Don't Say A Word
by ShiningXStar
Summary: At Degrassi, nothing is what it seems. Everyone has a secret, and when the truth comes out, will everything be destroyed? Mostly about Manny, Craig, Ash, Spin, Paige, Ellie, Sean, Emma, Jimmy, and Riley. Summary inside!R&R!
1. Remorse

 **Author's Note**- While the students of Degrassi may seem perfect, but beneath the surface is a world of lies, drugs, sex, and scandal. Everyone has a secret, but when the truth comes out, will the students of Degrassi be able to cope with the aftermath? Manny had an abortion and has a drug problem, and Craig doesn't know about any of that. Paige and Spinner are still dating, but will a backstabbing-betrayal ruin their relationship? After Craig dumped Ashley for Manny, she started seeing Damon, but is he not what he seems? Sean and Emma seem to have the perfect romance, but their both keeping devastating secrets…Ellie mysteriously returns after she disappeared two months before, but what really happened to her while she was gone? Riley is the wildest girl in the class, but can she be tamed, before she self-destructs?

Please read and review and tell me what you think! I hope it's going to be a pretty intense story, so keep reading! Thanks

      Images flashed quickly through Manny Santos's mind as she lay sprawled on her bedroom floor. A circular mirror lay on the floor next to her, with three lines of cocaine dribbled across the top. Manny squeezed her eyes shut, mentally willing the unwanted memories to disappear…

_"It's not the locker I don't like…it's you," Craig said sadly, staring at her with large, soulful eyes. Manny swallowed hard and looked away, the words vibrating unhappily through her head…._

_Craig drummed the guitar lightly and Manny reached over and gently removed the guitar from his hands. The garage was dimly lit as Manny leaned over and kissed Craig lightly on the mouth. The two fell back onto the couch, kissing passionately. Manny allowed Craig to slowly unbutton her blouse…._

_"I….you…you have to go, Manny," Craig stuttered the following morning as he grabbed his shirt from the floor. "I'm sorry." Manny nodded slowly, wondering exactly what he was apologizing for. Was he apologizing for having sex with her, or was he apologizing for the fact that he regretted it?..._

_"I want you to dump Ashley," Manny stated. "I've been patient, but I think it's time."_

_"I..I can't make that choice," Craig stuttered, staring at her in surprise. Manny's quiet for a second._

_"I think you just did," she said coldly, and then she stormed out of the garage, leaving Craig all alone…._

_Manny stared at the pregnancy test with blank eyes, frozen in her spot. She could barely move-she could barely breath. God, she was pregnant. Manny stared up into the mirror over the sink in her bathroom. Then, she turned and heaved the small stick against the wall, tears streaming down her face…_

_"It's ok, Manny," the nurse said, squeezing her hand firmly. "This won't hurt a bit."_

_Manny nodded slowly, butterflies in her stomach. She was doing it. She was getting an abortion. She was killing Craig's baby…and her own…._

Manny sat up with a start, and suddenly a sick feeling on nausea washed over her. She hunched over the small mirror, put a finger on one nostril, and inhaled the white powder into the other. She could vaguely hear her parents arguing loudly downstairs, most likely over money or about her and her brother, or even some stupid shit, like what toothpaste brand to buy. Manny fell back on the floor, her head whirling.

_Don't think about that_, she scolded herself, wiping her nose. _You had the abortion. There's nothing you can do about it now. _There was clearly no use in replaying it over and over again in her head- what was done was done. Manny rubbed her hands over her face and sighed. Manny had had sex. Yes, she had gotten pregnant. Yes, she had had an abortion. But did she tell Craig about any of that? No. Because she hadn't had the fucking guts to tell him that she was pregnant with his baby, let alone that she had gotten an abortion and killed his child. 

_Tell him_, a voice in her head screamed at her. _You have to tell him! You'll never move on if you don't. _Manny crawled over to her bed, struggled to get to her feet, and then finally collapsed onto her mattress. _Shut up_, she told herself. _You can't tell him. He'll hate you forever. Is that what you want? _

Manny closed her eyes and stuffed her face into her pillow. _You can't tell him. You can never tell him._

          It was still dark outside, but the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. Sean turned over onto his stomach and stuffed his face into his pillow, completely exhausted. After he nearly asphyxiated himself in his pillow, he lifted his head groggily and stared at the alarm clock on his bed-stand. It was almost six, and Sean sadly realized that now that he was up, _he was up_. He groaned and sat up slowly, tossing back the covers and untangling the sheets that were wrapped around his legs.

The girl that had been lying next to him stirred slightly, and she rolled over to face him. She groggily opened one eye, and when she saw that he was up, she smiled sleepily at him.

"Sean," she said in a small voice. "Where you going?"

Sean sighed, finding that he was slightly irritated by the cute brunette that was next to him. He rubbed his hands over his face and stared up at the ceiling. "Nowhere. Look, I think you'd better leave."

The girl propped herself up on her elbows and frowned at him. "Why? Did I…do something wrong?'

Sean shook his head, not sure what to say. He hated when the girl would suddenly become all vulnerable and needy. For some strange reason, it made him want to just push her off the bed or something. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw that she was staring at him with large, puppy-dog eyes. _Jesus_, he thought. _You'd think I told her I shot her grandma or something. _

"No. It's not you…" he said, searching his brain for a name. He looked at her again, and frowned. He wanted to say Lauren, but that didn't sound right. _Laura? No…Lori?_ Hell, he couldn't remember. "Uh…I have a girlfriend…Leslie?"

The girl snorted. "It's Leah. And it's a little late to be thinking about your girlfriend, don't you think?" She reached over and rubbed his bare shoulder. "You had fun with me, right?" Sean thought for a second, and sighed again. He might as well tell her what she wanted to hear.

"Yeah. It was…fun," he lied. Honestly, it had just been another one-night stand to him, something he would reflect on and smile about for a whole week, but nothing he'd remember in a year or two. "It's just I have a serious girlfriend…and I'm sort of feeling that morning after guilt, you know?' he said slowly. Then he reached over and grabbed her shirt from the floor, and then shoved it at her. "So…the front doors down the hall and through the kitchen."

The girl took her shirt, and frowned at him. She pulled it on, clearly pissed. "That's it? After all that? You're directing me to the door?"

Sean looked thoughtful for a minute, then simply shrugged and nodded. He knew he was acting like a huge jerk, but it was like he couldn't stop himself- suddenly, he wanted the girl to get the hell out of his house- _now. _He watched mindlessly as the tall girl stood up, glaring at him the whole time, and then she stomped over to the door. A few seconds later, Sean heard the front door slam loudly, vibrating through the house. Sean sighed in relief, and then walked to the kitchen.

He pulled open the refrigerator door and peered inside. He saw an empty carton of milk, a few pieces of moldy cheese, and ketchup. _Well, that's a winning combination_, he thought sarcastically. He closed the fridge in frustration, and realized that he'd have to eat the same things he'd been eating for the past week- a peanut butter sandwich.

Sean was pulling out the bag of bread when he spotted Jay sprawled on the couch, his stupid hat pulled low over his face. Sean rolled his eyes, remembering the previous night- Sean had actually wanted to spend some alone time with Emma, but Jay had invited a bunch of people to his house, so he had scratched that idea. Then Leah, or whatever her name was, had showed up, and…well…it had been a crazy night. Sean walked over to the couch, grabbed a pillow from a chair, and hurled it at Jay. Jay woke with a start, and his hat fell onto the floor. He stared at Sean angrily.

"Man, what's your problem?" he said, a voice a cross between angry and sleepy. 'I was_ clearly_ sleeping."

"Yeah, I realized that. But, in case you've forgotten, this isn't your house," Sean said, gesturing around him.

Jay ignored him and closed his eyes again. "How did things go with that Leah girl?"

Sean sighed. "Fine, I guess. She talked too much, and she laughed like a hyena on Speed or something. She gave me her number," he said, taking the small slip of paper out of his pocket and crumpling it up in his fist. He shrugged and tossed the paper on the floor, knowing he'd never call her in a million years.

Jay, who had been smiling, frowned when he saw this. "Well, hey, don't waste it," he said, leaning over and picking up the paper off the floor. "I might call her."

Sean walked over to the kitchen. "Word of advice-_don't_. You'll just want to kill yourself, believe me." He reached over and picked up the cordless phone off the counter. "I'm going to call Emma."

Jay grabbed his hat and put it back on his face. "It's six in the morning. So if you really want to wake her up and piss her off, then go ahead and call," came a muffled voice. Then, Jay folded his arms over his chest and rested his head on his pillow, and Sean could tell he'd much rather fall back asleep than talk to him. Sean sighed and laid the phone back down. Even though Jay was a complete idiot, he actually had a point.

_Why do you do this?_ Sean wondered as he slathered some peanut butter onto a piece of bread. Every time after he hooked up with some random girl, he always felt the compulsive need to call Emma. Like he had to make sure she hadn't instinctively figured out he had cheated on her or something_. It's pathetic_, he thought, biting into his sandwich. _Completely wrong and pathetic. _

He knew that. But then why the hell couldn't he stop cheating on Emma?

      The sun was sinking into the sky as Jimmy Brooks approached Hazel Aden's front doorstep. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he timidly climbed onto her front doorstep and glanced around. _You're in deep shit, dude_, he thought, scuffling his feet on the concrete. He took a deep breath. A minute later, he knocked lightly on her door, and it almost instantly opened. Hazel was standing there, looking awesome in a flighty black skirt and a low-cut blue sweater. Jimmy smiled weakly.

"Hey, baby," he said. She was frowning at him. "You look really-" he began, but she quickly cut him off.

"Don't "hey baby" me, Jimmy," she snapped, folding her slim arms over her chest and leaning against the door frame. "Do you know what time it is? You were supposed to pick me up two hours ago to go to the movie."

Jimmy sighed, suddenly feeling horrible. "I know, Hazel, but after my basketball camp this morning I volunteered to help out with the younger kid's program. I just lost track of time…"

"Have you ever heard of a phone?" she asked, sounding frustrated and angry. She threw up her hands. "The least you could have done was called. I've been waiting around, worried sick about you!"

Jimmy stared down at the ground silently. _She's right_, he thought. _She's right. You're an asshole. Here she is, looking amazing and waiting to go on a date with you, and you ditched her to play basketball with a couple of eight-year-olds_, he thought. When he thought about it _that_ way, it made him sound like a fucking idiot. He rubbed his hands over his short hair, and finally looked up at her. _Just apologize. That's what she wants._

"Haze, I'm sorry. Really," he said, and it sounded lame, even to his own ears. Hazel glanced away, and he saw tears sparkling in her deep brown eyes. _Great. You made her cry. Why don't you just go shoot a puppy or push an old lady into traffic? _

"It's just…you always do this," she said slowly, pain in her voice. "Don't you…don't you want to be with me?"

Jimmy nodded quickly.  "Yeah. Hazel, of course. You mean everything to me." He shook his head. "It's just, when I'm playing basketball, I get really into it-"

"So you'd rather play basketball than be with me?" Hazel said sharply. "Fine. I have an idea. How about you go off and play basketball, instead of going out with me. I'm sure you'll have an excellent time." With that, she grabbed the door and slammed it right in Jimmy's face. Jimmy winced as the sound vibrated through the quiet street. _Damn it_, he thought, turning and walking back to the sidewalk. If Jimmy could beat the crap out of himself, he probably would. He hated hurting Hazel, which was something he seemed to do frequently. _You don't deserve her_, he realized, kicking at a rock as he walked down the street.

Jimmy kept walking, yelling at himself mentally and just getting more and more worked up over the whole incident with Hazel. Before he knew what was happening, he was heading toward the one place that he most definitely _shouldn't_ be going to- a place he had been going a lot lately. _Don't, man_, he thought in the back of his head. _Turn around and just go home. _But it was like he couldn't stop himself- he had to go.

A few minutes later, he knocked loudly on another door. He waited anxiously as he heard footsteps approaching the door. He stuffed his hands back into his pockets as the door flew open. He looked up at her, and sighed.

"Well, look who is here," Paige purred, leaning against the doorframe, looking exactly as Hazel had a few minute earlier. Except she was wearing her trade-mark smirk, and she looked slightly amused. Jimmy couldn't help but smile. The feeling her got whenever he saw Paige- it was something he couldn't explain. Silently, Paige stepped aside and let Jimmy come in. The house was empty and quiet, so Paige took his hand and led him into the living room. They both sat down on the couch, and they stared at each other for a painfully long minute. A minute later, Paige was on top of Jimmy, and they were making out as if there was no tomorrow.

After a few minutes of intense making out, Paige leaned back briefly. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going out with Hazel," she breathed, and then she leaned in a kissed him again.

"We got in a fight," he said in between kisses. When he said this, Paige pushed him away and leaned back. She frowned at him and sniffed unhappily.

"Oh. Well, that's awesome, Jimmy," she said, rolling her eyes and re-adjusting her shirt. "You get in a fight with your girlfriend, and you go running to her best friend's house."

Jimmy sighed and shrugged. "Alright. We have to talk."

"Pass," Paige said, picking at her nail. Jimmy shook his head.

"Paige, come on. How long are we going to do this?"

Paige's face softened and she sighed. "I…I don't know."

"I love you, Paige."

"Don't say that," Paige said quickly, glancing at him.

"Why not? What's the matter? Do you not feel the same way about me, or-" Jimmy began, but Paige cut him off.

"The matter is, I'm dating your best friend, and you're dating my best friend!" she cried, throwing up her hands. "Do you not detect a slight problem there? What are we supposed to say- hey, we've been secretly seeing each other for two months; hope your ok with that? Somehow, I don't think that's going to go well."

Jimmy smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, I was thinking about maybe writing them a note, but…"

Paige smiled softly and punched him playfully in the arm. "This is serious, Jimmy."

"I know. But I don't know how much longer I can do this. It's seriously starting to mess with my head."

Paige nodded in understanding. "I know, baby. But not so much longer, alright? I promise." She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. "And to answer you're other question, I do feel the same way."

          The small basement was dim, and the only light in the room came from small white Christmas lights that had been strung up on the walls. Soft music was playing on a stereo in the corner, and the room was filled with smoke. Riley Corey was sitting on a carpet in the middle of the room, her back against the tattered couch behind her. She glanced at the other two girls sitting nearby, and then lit a joint.

"Alright, I'll give you some," Riley finally said after a minute. "But it will cost you, of course."

"Of course," Manny said a bit sarcastically. "But you completely overprice for weed, you know."

"Then go get it from someone else," Riley snapped back. She glanced at Emma, who was sitting on the couch. "I don't know why I'm friends with you two," she muttered, inhaling the joint in her hand.

"Because you love us, that's why," Manny said, smiling sweetly. "Can I hit that?" she asked, gesturing to the joint. Riley looked thoughtful for a second, and then slowly handed it to Manny. Emma glanced up from behind Riley, where she was flipping through a magazine.

"So, Paris, are you still dating that Joe guy?" Emma asked casually. Riley snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I don't know if you call making out occasionally "dating", but no, I'm not. I got the distinct impression that he was gay, anyway. He was more interested in talking to my brother than doing anything with _me_."

"You think that everyone's that not interested in you must be gay," Manny pointed out with a slight smile.

"Well, _obviously_," Riley snorted, snatching back the joint from her friend. "Look at me."

"Perhaps it's your overwhelming conceit that turns men off," Emma said, closing the magazine. She glanced at her watch, and then sat up. "Well, I've got to go."

Riley nodded. "Yeah, I should go, too. I've got my shit to do." She stood up a little uneasily, and then smiled at Manny. "I'll hook you up later, alright?" Manny nodded and stood up with her two friends.

"Yeah. I'll walk you guys out," Manny said. The three walked up the stairs to the first floor, and then filed out the front door. Emma waved at Sean when she spotted him leaning against his car, which was parked on the curb. He smiled and nodded back her. Emma began walking toward him, but then suddenly stopped short and turned to Manny. "Shoot! Remember that shirt you were going to let me borrow for tonight?"

Manny nodded slowly. "Yeah. Come on. We can go up to my room and you can pick one out." Emma nodded in agreement, and she and Manny turned and went hurrying back into the house. Riley watched them go, then turned and skipped down the walkway toward Sean. She walked up and smiled slightly at him. "Hey, Sean."

Sean stuck his hands into his pocket and looked away. "Uh…hi, Riley."

Riley stepped up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "So are you still going to pretend like nothing happened between us, or what? You never called me back after that night."

Sean cleared his throat uncomfortably, took her arms and unwrapped them from his waist, and pushed her away. "Stop it, Riley. I don't want to talk about this now."

Riley shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright. Whatever. I'll just go talk to Emma about it." She turned to walk back into the house, but Sean grabbed her arm firmly. She turned back around and laughed quietly. "I was kidding. Please. You know I'm not like that. It's just…" she trailed off and pouted, sticking out her lower lip. "I thought there was something between us."

"Bull," Sean said, rolling his eyes. "You're just doing this to get to me. We never even liked each other much, and you know it."

Riley frowned and sniffed. "You're a jerk, Sean. I _kind of_ liked you. I liked you enough to sleep with you."

"Yeah, and it was fun, ok? But I think we should just forget it ever happened and never speak of it again," Sean said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Get over it, ok?"

Riley snorted. "I am over it_. So over it_." Just then, Emma and Manny walked up. Emma smiled and kissed Sean on the cheek, and Riley just rolled her eyes and stared at her nails.

"Let's go, Sean," Emma said, opening the car door and climbing in. Sean walked around quickly to the driver's side and jumped in, in no mood to stick around. Emma rolled down the window and smiled at her friends. "So, Riley, are we still going shopping tomorrow?"

Riley leaned into the opened window of the car and smiled at her friends. "Oh, definitely. We can have a nice, long, talk," she said, staring at Sean with a smirk on her face. "There are a lot of things I think I should tell-"

Sean cleared his throat. "Ok! Time to go!" he said, starting the engine.

"Bye, guys," Emma called to her friends with a wave. Riley smiled and waved back.

"Bye, Emma. Bye, _Sean_!"

         The lights were dim in Ashley's bedroom, and soft rock music was playing lightly on the radio. Ashley closed her eyes as Damon Hill, her boyfriend, began softly kissing her neck. She leaned her head against her pillow and smiled softly as Damon's lips finally found her own. _This is perfect_, she thought. _Everything is perfect. _Ashley briefly opened her eyes and glanced over at the clock on her bed-stand. _Damn it_! She thought angrily. _Almost six._

She gently pushed Damon off of her, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. You have to go."

Damon groaned and sat up, running a hand through his disarrayed hair. "Are you sure?" he joked. Ashley smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but my Mom and I are going to this concert, and I have to get ready," she said apologetically.

Damon stood up and smiled. "Oh, I see how it is. You're choosing your mother over me?"

Ashley stood up too and shrugged. "Well, she did go through eighteen hours of labor to give birth to me, so yeah…" she said, walking over and standing close to him.

"You have a point," Damon agreed, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "But we're getting together tomorrow. There's this movie I've been dying to see. I'll pick you up at three, alright?"

Ashley thought for a second, and then shook her head slowly. "Sorry. I can't tomorrow. I'm really busy."

Damon frowned. "Don't' you want to spend time with me?"

Ashley nodded quickly. "Of course I do! But I can't tomorrow. I'm have to spend some time with my grandma, and then I already made plans to go to Paige's house with Terri-"

"Well, it doesn't sound like you want to spend time with me," Damon interrupted her, frowning harder. "You'd rather hang out with that bimbo than go to a movie with your boyfriend?"

Ashley bit her lip. "Damon, we can do something on Monday. I promise. We can go out to dinner, and then go to that movie you wanted to-"

Damon suddenly grabbed her wrist roughly and shook his head. "I'm your boyfriend, Ashley. You're supposed to want to be with _me_."

Ashley winced and struggled to wrench her wrist out of Damon's grasp. "Damon…that really hurts. _Please let go._"

Damon shook his head, but after a long minute he finally released Ashley's wrist. Ashley took a step backward and rubbed her sore wrist. Damon was still glaring at her.

"Maybe….I can drop by your place before I go to Paige's," Ashley said hesitantly. "I have to get ready for the concert, Damon. I think you should go." She nodded toward the door.

"Fine. Call me tomorrow," Damon said, suddenly sounding as normal and sweet as he always did. He grabbed his jacket off a nearby chair and shrugged it on. "Have fun at your concert." Then he turned and walked out the door. Ashley watched him go, and as soon as he was gone she hurried over and shut her bedroom door. She turned and stared at her wrist, and saw that there were already bruises forming on her wrist.

_He didn't mean to be so rough_, Ashley told herself. She walked over to her dresser and began pulling off her shirt, to change into something more formal for the concert. She laid her shirt on her dresser, and her eye caught the small bruise on her right shoulder. _He didn't mean to be rough when he gave me that two days ago, either_, she told herself again, but this time she didn't actually believe herself. _He loves you. He loves you. He loves you._

But no matter how many times she repeated that to herself, she still had her doubts.

        Spinner rolled over onto his back and stared at the alarm clock on his bed-stand. It was almost one in the morning, but Spinner couldn't sleep. There were too many thoughts running through his head. Things between him and Paige hadn't been the same lately….she seemed more distracted and less interested in him. Spin couldn't figure it out- things had been going great between them.

But that wasn't the thing that was bothering Spinner. Even though his relationship with Paige was one of the most important things to him, he couldn't help thinking about something even more disturbing…something that was eating away at his soul.

Suddenly, Spinner heard a light knock on his door, and he jumped slightly. His bedroom door opened slowly, and his adopted sister, Kendra, stepped in. He sat up slowly as she walked over to his bed.

"Hey. What are you still doing up?" he asked quietly. Kendra shrugged and sat down at the edge of his bed. In the moonlight, Spinner could see the bright tears in her dark eyes.

"Spin…I'm scared."

Spinner felt his insides turn, and he looked down at his hands. "I know," he said in a raspy voice. "I'm scared of Dad, too."

Kendra nodded silently, and fiddled with the gold necklace that hung on her neck.

Spin took a deep breath, knowing he had to ask the question that was burning in his mind. His father was a prominent business man, but he had one weakness- alcohol. When he drank to much, he got violent. It scared Spinner to see his father so trashed and out of control, but he suspected it scared Kendra even more….

"Kendra," he finally said. "Has Dad been….touching you…lately?"

Kendra looked up at him as tears fell down her cheeks. "I…yes," she choked out. "He's started….he's started doing it again, Spin. I don't know….what to do," she said, and she began crying as she stuffed her face in her hands. Spin felt his heart break and he reached out and put an arm around his sister. _That son of a bitch_, he thought angrily, his jaw clenching.  Just then, he heard a car door slam in the driveway. _Daddy's home._

"Hurry…Kendra, get back into your room," Spin said urgently, knowing that his father only arrived home this late after her had been out drinking, probably with his work buddies. "I'll come check on you in awhile, ok?" Kendra nodded and quickly jumped off of the bed, and she hurried out of his room to her own.

Spin leaned his head back on his pillow. He had suspected his Dad had been molesting Kendra, but hearing Kendra confirm it…it made him was to be sick. Well, Spin had been sitting by and doing nothing for too long. He was sick of keeping quiet. He had to do something-for Kendra.

_He's not going to get away with this_, he thought angrily, staring out the window_. I won't let him._

      Ellie sat in the back of the cab, staring distractedly out the window as she watched the trees whirl past. She couldn't believe she was going home-back to Degrassi….back to everything that had driven her away. She picked at her nails and sighed. She wondered how everyone at school would react to seeing her. Two months ago, Ellie had mysteriously disappeared, and no one had had any idea where she had gone.

_I didn't tell anybody I was leaving_, she remembered_. I just left. But I had too._

A few minutes later, the cab approached her house, and Ellie felt her stomach flutter. _Shit, I'm nervous_, she realized in amazement. As the car pulled to a stop, Ellie wandered exactly what she was expecting. She had been gone for two months, and now she was just going to waltz back into her house as if nothing had happened. What was she supposed to say_? HI! I haven't spoken to you in two months, but now I'm back, so don't worry- what's for dinner? _Ellie shook her head and laughed in spite of herself. _Somehow I don't think that is going to go over well._

Ellie paid the driver, opened the door, and stepped out. She stared at her familiar house, and was surprised to feel a warm, comforting sensation wash over her. After all she had been through in the last two months, Ellie suddenly just wanted to run into her room and collapse into her own comfy bed.

Ellie got her bags and slowly walked up to her front door, her stomach twisted in uncomfortable knots. _Let's just get this over with_, she thought as she lifted her hand to knock on the front door…..


	2. Sluts

**Author's Note**- Ok, I've decided that Craig's father is alive, for the purpose of the story, and his name is Albert, because I think that's what his name was. Also, if you didn't figure it out, Manny got pregnant, had an abortion, and never told Craig. So read, review, and give ideas and thoughts! THanks

Riley stared at the large mirror on her wall, and then she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I can't wear this, Mother. I look like a bloated cow."

Her mother shook her head firmly as she began lacing her earrings through her ears. "Nonsense, darling. You_ could_ stand to lose a few pounds, but I think that dress looks fine on you."

Riley rolled her eyes as she stared at her reflection. The black, strapless dress she was wearing was tight and hugged every curve, and Riley didn't think she looked fat at all. Riley's mother liked to subtly insult her daughter, and she always knew exactly what to say to piss Riley off. "I don't think I need to lose weight. If anyone needs to lose weight, it's you. You've been getting soft in certain places, if you know what I mean," Riley said with a smirk, and she reached out and pinched her mother's stomach.

"What? Are you saying I've _gained_ weight?" her mother asked in horror, shoving her daughter aside so she could check out her own reflection in the mirror. "Oh, don't be ridiculous. I can't be more than 120. Now…let's talk about your hair…."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Riley snapped. Her mother smiled kindly and reached out and stroked her daughter's loose, silky blonde hair. "Oh, it's fine, sweetie. But don't you think you should pull it back? Maybe a sophisticated twist or something."

Riley really wanted to tell her mother to just fuck off, but instead she just shrugged and stepped away. "Um…_pass_. I like it like this, thank you very much."

"It was just a little suggestion, sweetie. You don't have to get such an attitude," her mother said with a haughty sniff. "I'll meet you in the limo in a few minutes, alright?" Riley nodded, and her mother grabbed her purse and walked out of Riley's room. Riley turned back to the mirror, and appraised herself again. _I think I look damn hott_, she thought with satisfaction. She tugged at her revealing dress, and smiled. _Almost slutty, but not quite.__ Perfect._ With that, Riley turned and hurried out of the room.

A half hour later, Riley was standing in the corner of the large ballroom at the local country club, slurping down champagne and critically eyeing all the other well-dressed people gathered in the room. _What a waste of perfectly good time_, she reflected, sipping on her champagne_. I could really use a joint right now._ She saw her mother spot her, and she waved her daughter over. Riley rolled her eyes and slumped over to her mother and her small group of friends.

"Honey, be social, for god's sake!" her mother exclaimed when she approached. "You remember Mrs. Bernstein, and of course Rosemary."

"Why, what a stunning dress, Riley," Rosemary said. Riley wrinkled her nose in distaste as she stared down at her dress.

"I hate this dress," she said. "It's so tacky. My mother picked it out." Her mother budged her in the rib, and Riley rolled her eyes. _Stupid bitch_, she thought. "Mom, how much longer is this thing?"

"Honey, this is a charity event for the diseased children in Nigeria," her mother said in amazement. "It's _very_ important."

"So you're telling me that by dressing up and standing around a ballroom, we're actually helping children in Nigeria?" Riley asked with a smirk. "Please. This is clearly a fraud."

"Honey, why don't you go talk to your father," her mother said immediately, clearly irritated with her daughters sarcasm. She subtly bumped her daughter in the hip, giving her a clear signal she wanted her gone. "He's over there. _See."_

Riley didn't bother to respond, and she just walked over to her father, a tall, tan man dressed in a tall tuxedo. He was talking to two couples, and they seemed to find him extremely funny. _Suck- ups_, she thought bitterly. _Just because he's one of the richest men in town, suddenly he's absolutely hysterical. _

"Riley!" her father said when he saw her. Her excused himself from the group and walked over to her. "Darling, you look stunning. Much older than seventeen." He kissed her lightly on the cheek. Riley smiled and shrugged. He didn't really need to point that out- she knew it already. "Here. There are some people I'd like you to meet." He took her arm and steered her over to a small group of people.

"George!" one man said, raising his drink. "We didn't think you would make it tonight."

"I always have time for charity," he said, patting the man on the shoulder. "This is my daughter, Riley. Riley, this is Ben Harmon and his wife Rebecca." Riley put on a large, fake smile and shook the older man's hand, and then his wife's.

"And this is Calvin Turner and Georgia Turner," he said, gesturing to the other couple.

"Hello, Riley," Calvin said, sticking out his hand. "I've heard so much about you."

Riley smiled slowly, subtly giving Calvin the once-over. He looked young- late-twenties, early thirties, and he was extremely handsome, with tan skin and dark, deep eyes. Riley had heard about him, too- he was a successful lawyer. Riley shook his hand firmly. "It's nice to meet you, too."

The band started playing again, and Riley saw her father smile. "Ah. My favorite. Georgia, would you like to dance?" He held out his hand, and Georgia took it and the waltzed onto the dance floor, leaving Calvin and Riley. Calvin turned to Riley. "May I have this dance?" Riley stared at him skeptically, and he chuckled. "Don't' worry- I'm not _that_ old."

A minute later, they were dancing to a slower song, and Riley realized it was time to turn on her full charm. A little harmless flirting couldn't hurt, could it?

"The way your father described you, I thought you were a little girl," Calvin said. Riley smiled and tilted her head to one side.

"I'm not that little, you know. I think I'm old enough, don't you?" she said provocatively, stepping a little closer to him. Calvin smirked and nodded.

"Enjoy your youth while it lasts," he told her. "I'd do anything to be a teenager again."

"You act like your sixty or something," Riley teased, stepping an inch closer. "Let me guess….you're….twenty-seven?"

"You flatter me. Actually, I'm twenty nine."

"Well, you're not over the hill yet," she joked. "A few more years, and you'll be ready for a mid-life crisis."

"A mid life crisis?" Calvin replied with a smile. Riley nodded

"You know…getting a motorcycle….piercing something to seem cool…fooling around with younger girls," she said quietly into his ear. She was satisfied to see him squirm a little, and she knew she had made him uncomfortable. She giggled silently to herself, knowing she was totally pushing the limits, but who cared? She had to do something to make sure she didn't fall asleep standing up or something at this stupid "charity" event.

"You're certainly not Daddy's-Little-Girl, are you?" he said, sounding a little flustered. He stepped back slightly.

"Nope," she said flippantly. "You're wife's really pretty, you know." She nodded toward her father and Georgia. "I think my dad likes her-_a lot_." Calvin squirmed even more. "He doesn't usually dance, but tonight…well, he's a dancing up a storm with your wife."

Calvin laughed nervously. "What are you implying, girlie?"

"Like I said before, I'm _not_ a little girl," she said firmly. "What do I have to do to prove it to you?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stared at him. Calvin seemed to have relaxed a little, and he smirked. "I don't know- what did you have in mind?"

Riley bit her lip and glanced around. "Well…." She stepped closer to him. "I'm going to go to the one of those rooms on the second floor, and think about it." She whispered, referring to the rooms on the second floor that were supposedly for people to rest in. Usually, they were used by people who had too much to drink, couldn't drive home, and needed a place to crash. "If you want to join me in ten minutes, I'll be in the second room on the right." Then she winked, turned, and walked away, leaving Calvin staring after her in wonder.

Riley sat down on the bed, running her fingers over the soft comforter. She glanced at the clock and smiled slowly. Sure, there was always a chance he wouldn't come, but she had seen the way he was looking at her- he would come. Riley leaned back, and sighed happily. The night had started off boring as hell, but now it was finally looking up. Sure, Calvin was married and a friend of her father, blah, blah, blah, but so fucking what? If Riley had a conscience or an actual sense of right and wrong, she might have just got up and left. But of course, she didn't.

Fifteen minutes later, Riley glanced at the clock and sighed. _Maybe he's just a pussy who obviously didn't understand what he was going to miss._ Riley stood up, ready to leave. She wasn't going to sit around like a loser and wait for some guy. Just then, she heard a light knock on the door. Riley smirked, jumped back onto the bed, and got into her sexiest pose. "Come in," she purred. The door opened, and Calvin stepped in. Riley smirked. "I thought you weren't coming."

Calvin shrugged sheepishly and walked up to the side of the bed. "What can I say? I just had to find out how you were going to prove to me you weren't a little kid anymore."

Riley nodded and sat up. "Well…I thought about it carefully," she said, crawling over to the edge of the bed on her knees. "And I think I came up with something." With that, she reached over and unbuckled Calvin's fancy leather belt. After that, she sat back and smiled up at him.

"You_ aren't_ a little girl."

'I told you," Riley said, smiling in satisfaction. She jumped off the bed and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him firmly on the mouth. After a minute, Calvin pulled away.

"I have a wife," he said in a low voice, and Riley could see the guilt that was creeping into his gorgeous eyes. Riley bit her lip. _Do something- fast!_

"I promise I won't tell," she breathed, and she kissed him again. As she did, she felt him hesitantly reach around her back, and unzip her dress. Riley hardly noticed as if fell to the floor around her feet…..

Paige ran a comb through her hair as she stared at the mirror over her vanity, and made a face. "I think I need to dye my hair. My color is so…blah," she said, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. She turned in her seat to stare at her best friend Hazel, who was sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine. Hazel shrugged and barely looked up.

"I think its fine," she said distractedly, flipping to another page. Paige rolled her eyes.

"Hazel, I didn't invite you to spend the night so you could read a magazine. I invited you so you could shower me with compliments and make me feel better about myself," Paige joked, standing up and walking over to the bed. She plucked the magazine out of her friend's hand and smiled. "Ok, gossip time!" she cried, jumping onto the bed. "Got anything juicy for me?"

Hazel bit her lip, grabbed a pillow, and squeezed it in her lap. "Actually…there is something I kind of wanted to talk to you about."

Paige shrugged as she reached over and picked up her bowl of ice cream from the bed-stand. "Ok. Shoot." She dipped her spoon into the bowl and took a large scoop. Hazel bit her lip, and stared at the ground.

"Well…I think Jimmy's cheating on me. And I think I know with who!" Hazel blurted out. Paige nearly choked on the ice cream in her mouth, and she dropped her spoon into her bowl. She swallowed the ice cream quickly and smiled weakly.

"Well….I'm sure that's not true!" Paige said quickly. "What makes you say that? Who do you think it is_?" Oh, god. Please don't say me. Please don't say me. _

"It's just…" Hazel began. "He doesn't seem as interested or something. Like…distracted. I just have this feeling there's another girl involved. And I think he's been seeing Amber Wilkins, that tall girl on the girl's basketball team?"

Paige felt herself sigh in relief. "Oh," she nodded quickly. "She is such a total slut. I mean, a big ho. I wouldn't be surprised if she was messing with Jimmy." She saw Hazel's face fall. "Oh, not that he is….I mean…if he was going to cheat on you, it would be with someone you totally don't know, not like a friend or anything, because_…" Oh, just shut up, Paige_! She yelled at herself. _You might as well just slap a sign on yourself professing that you've been seeing Jimmy and are the worst friend in the history of the world. _

Hazel bit her lip in worry. "Yeah….I don't know. What do you think?"

"I-I think you're just imagining things," Paige said casually, waving a hand dismissively, as if the whole idea was completely bogus. She swallowed hard and fiddled with her spoon. "Maybe…he just doesn't like you anymore." Paige immediately winced, realizing that probably wasn't the best-friend-support that Hazel was looking for. Hazel frowned harder.

"Do you think so?"

"I really don't know…but I think you should dump him!" Paige said. She bit her lip, telling herself to just stop, but she couldn't. She was totally trying to sabotage Jimmy and Hazel's relationship simply because she was so jealous of the two she couldn't see straight. "I mean…you deserve_ so _much better."

Hazel shrugged. "I've been thinking about it…but I want to give him a few more chances. I really, really like him," she said, smiling. "Hey, do you and Spinner want to come with me and Jimmy to The Dot tomorrow? Maybe then you can see if I'm totally just being paranoid or something."

Paige shrugged. "Actually…I don't think so. I think I'm pretty busy tomorrow." Actually, she was completely open, but she really couldn't stand the idea of having to watch Jimmy and Hazel on another date. It made her practically nauseous. Paige felt like a totally horrible friend, but she couldn't help it. _I think I'm in love with Jimmy,_ she realized. Problem was, so was Hazel.

"Oh. What are you doing?"

Paige said the first thing that came to mind. "I have this thing with the Spirit Squad."

Hazel frowned. "But Paige…I'm on the Spirit Squad, and I never heard about anything going on tomorrow."

Paige mentally kicked herself._ Damn!_ How stupid was she- of course Hazel was on the Spirit Squad- the two had co-founded it together. Paige really needed to start thinking before she actually talked. Paige smiled weakly and shrugged.

"Oh, that's next week. Sorry. I have to help my Mom with this thing…" Hazel shrugged.

"Ok. That's cool. Maybe some other time."

Paige gulped. "Yeah…maybe some other time." _Maybe like…never_?

"Are you ok?" Craig asked Manny, taking her hand across the table and smiling gently at her. "You look a little nervous or something."

Manny smiled weakly and shrugged. "No. I'm totally fine. I just…I don't want your father to hate me," she whispered to her boyfriend. They were seated at the dining room table in Craig's house, and Manny could see Craig's father pulling the pot roast out of the oven.

Craig smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry. No one can hate you, Manny."

Manny bit her lip. Actually, she could think of about ten people who had literally despised her at one time- Emma, Ashley….pretty much every girl in school whose boyfriend had ever flirted with her. That thought depressed Manny, and she sighed. Craig was still smiling brightly at her, as if his life couldn't possibly get better than it was at that exact moment. Manny knew Craig was all excited because he was spending time with his Dad, even though he still lived with Joey. Manny tried to return his happy smile, but it was as if her face muscles refused to move in the upward direction.

"Ok! Dinner is ready!" Craig's father called as he brought the roast to the table. He set it down and then took a seat at the head of the table. Manny smiled a little when she her nose caught whiff of the meat, but she wasn't really hungry. She folded her hands neatly in her lap and waited while Albert, Craig's father, began cutting into the roast.

"This smells great," Craig said enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together. Manny cracked another smile at Craig. If anyone else had been acting this upbeat and happy, Manny probably would have punched them in the face. But when Craig did it, it was simply adorable- everything Craig did was adorable.

"So, Manny, you like meat?" Albert asked her. Manny nodded eagerly.

"I'm not a vegetarian or anything," she said quickly. "If God didn't want us to eat animals, then he wouldn't have made them taste so good…right...?" she trailed off, realizing how stupid that just sounded. "I mean…I love meat!" _That wasn't much better, Manny_, she thought bitterly.

"Well, a girl that likes her meat. You pick them well, Craig."

Craig blushed slightly as he served himself some peas. "I didn't know you were so enthusiastic about meat, Manny," Craig said, shooting her a strange look. Then, he smiled, and mouthed to her "Calm down." Manny nodded.

The three made pleasant small-talk for a few minutes, and Manny forced herself to eat something. Since she had started snorting cocaine, her taste buds just weren't the same.

"So, how was work today, Dad?" Craig asked, taking a sip of his water. Albert sighed and shook his head.

"Not that exciting. Well, actually, this girl came in this afternoon. She must have been about fifteen or sixteen- turns out she's pregnant," he said, shaking his head in disapproval. "She was in a car accident, and had no idea she was expecting until they told her. She decided to get an abortion, I guess. It's a shame, really, for the baby. Someone that young should never get pregnant."

Manny stared at her plate uncomfortably, pushing her peas around with her fork. She could feel her face grow hot, and she hoped that it wasn't turning all red. That story sounded horribly familiar- probably because it was basically the same thing that had happened to Manny.

"That is too bad," Craig said casually. "I can't understand how she could get an abortion. I mean…you're killing a baby. _A human being._ That's just plain wrong, if you ask me. If I were a girl, I'd feel so guilty afterward. Doesn't she feel bad? Doesn't she think she should take the responsibility for getting pregnant and at least give birth, not just kill it?"

_Yes! Yes!_ Manny wanted to scream. She had felt all that. She had always been so scared what Craig would say about abortion, because she had never really asked him before. But hearing him actually say that….it made her feel even more horrible and disgusting.

"Abortion is a serious issue in this country. What's your opinion, Manny?" Albert asked. Manny swallowed hard.

"Well…I think you shouldn't really judge so fast, you know?" she said. "The girl was probably scared and confused…she probably wasn't ready to be a mother, you know? Being pregnant is really hard and really scary for a teenager…I don't know," she shrugged. "I'm not really against it or anything. Can I have some more peas, please?" she asked, holding out her plate, desperately hoping to change the subject. Albert nodded and smiled.

"That was great meal, Dad," Craig said, leaning back in his chair. Manny sighed in relief.

"Yeah. It was fabulous, Mr. Manning," she agreed quickly.

A half hour later, Mr. Manning stopped his car in front of Joey's house, a preoccupied frown on his face. "Well, here you are…at Joey's," he said a bit bitterly. Craig unbuckled his seat-belt and reached for the door, but his father put a hand on his arm. "Craig," he said in a low voice. "I wouldn't have to drop you off like this if you just moved back with me."

Craig swallowed hard and glanced at Manny, who was climbing out of the car, pretending not to notice. "Not yet, Dad," he said, and then he got out. His father nodded and waved. "Bye, Craig. Bye, Manny. It was nice meeting you."

Manny smiled brightly and waved from the curb. "It was nice meeting you, too." Then Mr. Manning went speeding off. Craig put an arm around Manny's shoulder and the two walked to the front door. Craig opened it and they both stepped inside. Craig quietly shut the door behind him.

"Well, that was nice," Manny said, shrugging off her jacket. "You're dad seems really nice, Craig."

Craig's smile faded, and he shrugged as he took off his own jacket. "Yeah. He seems nice…" he thought, and suddenly an image flashed in front of his eyes- his Dad viciously beating him with his belt. Craig shook his head, and told himself to forget about that. His dad was different now…wasn't he?

"So…is Joey home?" Manny asked. Craig smiled. _How can you be thinking about your father when you have your gorgeous girlfriend standing in front of you in your conveniently vacant house?_ "No. He's visiting his mother with Angela. So…we're all alone." He reached out and took Manny hand. She grinned at him, and they silently headed up the staircase. A minute later, they walked into Craig's room. He turned on the light, and then dimmed it. He leaned over and kissed Manny, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. A few minutes later, they were lying on his bed, and both had removed their shirts. Craig reached for the waist line of her flip skirt, and Manny suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Wait," she breathed. "Do you…you know?" She wiggled her eyebrows, hoping he'd get the message.

Craig frowned, looking clueless. "Uh…just because you wiggle your eyebrows doesn't mean I know what you're talking about."

Manny sighed in frustration. "Do you…have a condom?"

Craig scratched his head. "Um…wait right here." He jumped up and ran out of the room, and went straight into Joey's bedroom. He ruffled through his drawers and everywhere he could think of that Joey might keep a condom, but he came up empty. Joey was either not interested in safe sex or just simply wasn't _having_ sex. Craig raked his hands through his hair in frustration. This wasn't happening. He hurried back to his bedroom.

"Um…I don't really…have any," he said, jumping back onto the bed. He kissed Manny on the neck. "But…we don't really need one, do we?"

Manny thought for a second. She was tempted to just say fuck it and just have sex with him. But after already getting pregnant and having an abortion, she'd have to be a complete idiot to not demand Craig use a rubber. She bit her lip, knowing what she had to do. She pushed Craig away gently.

"Sorry, Craig. I love you, but I just can't…not without a condom," she said smiling apologetically.

Craig looked completely disappointed, but he nodded and sat up. "Ok. I understand."

Manny smiled, so happy that Craig was such a complete gentlemen. She scooted over and cuddled up next to him. "Tomorrow night. I promise, ok?" Craig finally smiled.

"Alright. I can wait. So, you want to go and watch a movie or something?"

Manny laughed and kissed him again. When she leaned back, she realized something- she was totally and completely in love with Craig Manning.

Sean clasped Emma's hand lightly in his as the couple walked through the well-lit streets of their town that evening. Sean looked at her and smiled, and she smiled back. God, he loved her. He really did. Even when they had broken up after Sean had started hanging out with Jay and his crew, Sean had tried _so_ hard to stop caring about her, but it was _literally_ impossible.

"It's such a nice night," Emma said happily, swinging his hand as they walked down the sidewalk.

"It's perfect," Sean agreed. "Hey, do you want some ice cream?" Emma nodded eagerly, and they headed over to the ice cream stand. As they got closer, Sean saw a familiar figure standing near it- a girl with long, dark-blonde hair. Sean frowned, just as the girl turned around.

"Riley!" Emma called, waving and hurrying up to her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"My mom was having this party-thing that she forced me to go to, but I just had to get out. I told her I was running out to get the mail. She is such an idiot. Who gets the fucking mail at nine o'clock at night?" she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I was craving ice cream, so I came here. What are two _love-birds_ doing?"

"Just hanging out," Emma replied, kissing Sean on the cheek.

"You two are so disgusting with your "relationship" crap," Riley said, rolling her eyes. Sean smirked.

"You're just bitter because no guy wants to actually have a_ relationship _with you," he pointed out. "They just want a good time, and then they leave....and laugh."

Emma nudged him in the side. "Sean!" she hissed. She glanced at Riley, who was narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend. There was always tension between Sean and Riley, and Emma totally couldn't figure it out. "He's just kidding, Riley."

Riley snorted and shrugged. "Whatever. Not that it's any of your business, Sean, but I am seeing someone," she lied, folding her arms over her chest. "He's older and much more mature than silly _high-school_ boys like you."

Sean smirked again. "Oh, yeah? And where did you meet this unfortunate fellow?"

"I met him at a charity event for diseased children in Nigeria," Riley said, thinking that made it sound more important. "He was absolutely taken with me."

"Oh, was it at one of your "rich-girl" events that you go to?" Sean asked. "Let me guess- you got a room upstairs and showed him how incredibly easy you actually are?"

Riley sniffed. That was pretty much exactly what had happened, but she wasn't about to admit it to Sean. "_No_. I'm a lady, Sean Cameron." Sean opened his mouth to reply, but Emma held up a hand.

"Ok, guys, enough of your playful banter," she said sarcastically.

Riley tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Whatever. I have to get back to my "rich-girl" events," she said, glaring at Sean. "See you later, Emma. Bye Seanny," she said, using the nickname she had always used whenever they were "together". Sean winced. Riley gave a little wave and pranced off.

Emma turned to him. "Why do you two always fight?'

Sean pretended to think. "Um…because she's a spoiled bitch!" Emma shook her head.

"Sean…" she bit her lip. "Did something happen between you two?"

"What?!"

"Just tell me," Emma pleaded. "Something happened between you two. I know it."

Sean sighed. _Might as well come clean…before Riley opens her fat mouth._ "Um…yeah. Kind of. Before you and me," he said quickly, which wasn't exactly true. "But it was nothing. Really. It didn't mean anything to me." That wasn't really true either. Riley had been so exciting and so different from Emma….but Sean had decided that his feeling for Riley were just a phase.

Emma looked hurt. "You never told me."

"I know! I didn't want to hurt you or ruin your friendship with Riley," he said. "It was nothing. I love you, Em."

Emma thought for a second. "Alright. It's fine. I'm just…a little surprised. But I understand," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But you haven't been with anyone else, right? Except Amy and Riley. And you never cheated on me, right?"

Sean swallowed hard. "Of course not, Emma," he lied. Emma smiled happily and squeezed him tightly, and suddenly, Sean felt like shit.

Spin lay in his bed late that evening, bouncing a ball against the ceiling. It was getting late, and he had school tomorrow, but he simply couldn't sleep. He had gone out with Paige earlier that night, and it had gone ok, but Spin still felt something was off- almost like Paige was completely there. He frowned. Maybe he should do something totally romantic- although Spin wasn't exactly Mr. Romance. He scratched his head. He had to think of something really good- Paige wasn't just another girl. She was…well…_Paige._

Spin threw back his covers and hopped out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and walked across his dark room, and pulled open the door. He padded down the hallway in his socks to his sister's room. The door was closed, so Spin pushed it open….and saw his father leaning over his sister's bed.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Spinner yelled, charging across the room. He shoved his father away from a terrified Kendra, who was hunched under her covers. His father stumbled back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" his father roared, a slight slur to his voice. He threw us his hands incoherently and waved them around. "I'm your fucking father, damn it!"

"You're a pervert! You're a gross, drunk, perverted old man that-" Spin began to yell, but his father stopped him by grabbing him by the collar and hurling him across the room. Spin fell into Kendra's desk, but managed to punch his father right in the jaw. The minute he did, Spin regretted it. The look in his father's eyes wasn't angry…it was deadly. Spin gulped, and went flying out of the room. He knew his father would follow him, and he didn't really care- just as long as his father got out of his sister's room.

Spin raced into the upstairs den, and his father hurried after him. Spin tried to close the door, but his father reached out and shoved it open. "I am your father, you little jerk-off! What gives you the right to touch me, huh?" he shoved Spin back against a bookshelf. "I'll show you to hit me!" He roared, raising his hand.

So Spin did the only thing he could do- he grabbed a book from behind him, and swung it around right at his father's head. The book hit him with a loud _thump_, and Spinner's father fell straight into his desk next to him. His face slammed into its ragged edge, and he fell to the floor. Spin dropped the book in horror.

Just then, Spinner's mother rushed in, wearing her silk robe. "Oh, God! What happened?"

Spinner's father grabbed onto the edge of the desk and staggered to his feet. He had a large gash on his chin. "Call the damn police!" he yelled.

"But-but-"his mother stammered, glancing back and forth between her husband and son.

"Do it, damn it!" he yelled, gently touching the gash on his face. "I'm pressing charges."

Spinner swallowed hard.


	3. Say It Ain't So

Author's Note- Haven't updated in forever! But I'm working on this story, and hopefully its going to get very "intense" (just like the real Degrassi!). So please read and review and tell me what you think! Thanks

Riley gazed out the window of her English classroom, and sighed miserably. School was such a bore for her- she could be doing so many better things with her time. She glanced at the head of the room, and watched as Mrs. Kwan began discussing the themes of To Kill A Mockingbird. She despised Mrs. Kwan- she had basically called Riley a slut last year after she didn't turn in a stupid book report. God, she hated this school, although it was better than that gay prep school that her mother had wanted her to go to, but Riley had nipped that in the bud when she had put laundry detergent in the headmistress's coffee. She was officially banned for life.

Mrs. Kwan leaned against her desk, and accidentally tipped over her coffee cup, and the brown liquid spilled onto the floor. Riley began laughing loudly, and then realized that no one else was laughing with her. Mrs. Kwan glared at her.

"Well, Riley, since you apparently find this so funny, why don't you go get a mop from the janitors closet?" she suggested dryly, bending over and picking up her cup.

Riley scowled, grabbed her bag, and stalked out of the classroom. This was just another reason to hate Mrs. Kwan, the English Nazi. She wandered down the hall until she reached the maintenance closet. Don't they hire people called janitors to do this? She wondered. She sighed and pulled open the door slowly, in no real mood to lug a mop all the way back to the class like Mrs. Kwan's little bitch or servant or something. The door opened, and Riley switched on the light. Her mouth fell open in surprise.

Standing in the middle of the closet was Sean Cameron, locked in a passionate embrace with some random girl with long, black hair and way too much eye-makeup. They looked up in surprise, and Riley smirked. Before they could move, Riley reached into her purse and pulled out the digital camera she always kept in her bag, just in case. _Thank God Daddy gave me this camera_, she thought happily, quickly snapping a shot or two of the illicit moment. Finally, the couple broke apart.

"Riley! What…what are you doing here?" Sean said angrily, pushing the girl away. The girl had the sense to actually blush in embarrassment, and she hurried out of the closet. Riley stepped aside to let her leave, and then leaned against the door frame, a sly smile on her pretty face. "Well, well. What do we have here? Could it be Sean Cameron, cheating on his girlfriend for the millionth time?"

"Riley, why can't you ever mind your own business?" Sean snapped, frowning. "What are you doing, stalking me now?"

Riley snorted. "Please. Don't flatter yourself, _loser_. Mrs. Kwan is a spaz and managed to spill her coffee, and because she's hates me, she sent me to get a mop. Following you-_please_. In typical retarded Sean Cameron fashion, you cheat on Emma once again and are stupid enough to actually get caught. Isn't it just a great coincidence that I have my camera with me? I think that was a great shot, don't you?" she crowed, waving the camera at him.

"Give me that!" Sean snarled, lunging for the camera. Riley pulled the camera away and shook her head.

"Not so fast. If I give you the picture, however am I going to be able to show Emma? No, that won't do. I think I'll keep it, for memory sake."

Sean folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her. "You're a bitch."

"And your screwed, if I show this picture to anyone," Riley retorted, stuffing the camera back into her bag. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and smirked. "Do you realize what this means? I own you," she exclaimed gleefully, and Sean could practically see the wheels turning in her scheming little head.

"Oh, please. Don't get too excited. You're not going to show that to Emma."

"Wanna bet?" Riley challenged. "This is so priceless. I'll tell you what. I won't show Emma this if you start being nicer to me."

"That's it?" Sean asked skeptically, figuring it couldn't be that simple. Nothing was that simple with Riley Corey. Riley shook her head.

"You wish. No, you be nicer to me….and if I happen to ask you to do a few things for me, you do it."

Sean thought for a second. Do a few things for Riley, or fuck up his relationship with Emma. He could bruise his pride and become Riley's temporary servant, because he figured she'd forget about it after awhile, anyway. Emma was way too important to him. He would amuse Riley for awhile until it blew over. He finally nodded and sighed. "Alright. I'll do whatever you'll say. But just to clarify something, I'll never like you."

"You'll do whatever I say, and you'll do it with a big smile on your face-"

"Don't push it," Sean interrupted. Riley smiled.

"Alright. Well, it was fantastic doing business with you, Seanny," Riley purred, reaching over and grabbing a mop. "But I should really get back to class with this. See you later!" Riley waved and turned to leave, and Sean just scowled at her. She turned suddenly and smiled at him. "Oh, and Sean?"

"What?" Sean snapped through clenched teeth. He had beyond his daily dose of Riley.

"The janitor's closet? That is _so_ tacky."

"Alright, Gavin. We have a bit of a problem here."

It was too hot and too early for this, Spin realized, as he shifted uncomfortably in the hard metal chair he was sitting in. The cops had showed up at his house, and while his mother cried and his father yelled, Spin was dragged into the smelly car and hauled off to the damn police station. They had thrown him in a cell for a few hours, and then they had finally taken him to a smoldering hot interrogation room. It was almost nine in the morning, and Spin should be at school, but instead he was sitting here, being asked pointless questions by hairy men with bad breath.

Spin shrugged, and the man sighed. "We take domestic violence very seriously in this city. It's not something we tolerate. You want to tell us what happened?" It wasn't a question- it was a command.

No, he really didn't. He was exhausted and angry, and he was in no mood to be badgered by this fat, incompetent man. "Look, are you going to charge me or something? Can we just get it over with?"

"Well….would you like us to charge you?"

Well, the obvious answer was no, but the guy was looking at him like he actually expected him to reply._ Where do they find these assholes? _He wondered. "No," he muttered. The man nodded.

"I didn't think so," he said. "So, what set you off? You're dad wouldn't let you stay out late? He caught you with some weed, so you got a little pissed?"

If only it was something that trivial. He glanced up at the man. He didn't really feel the need to explain himself- this guy had no idea what his family was like. Before he knew what was happening, he was blurting out the one thing he had promised himself he wouldn't talk about. But maybe, _maybe_, it was time Spin spoke up. "No. My dad has been doing fucked up shit to my sister, and I was sticking up for her." There. He'd said it, and damn, it had felt good.

The man blinked, and then smirked and shook his head. "Gavin-"

"It's Spinner. I like to go by Spinner."

"Fine. _Spinner,_ I've known your father for years, and you're telling me he's been molesting your sister?" the man grunted. "You're father is a fine man, Spinner. A fine man who I respect. I'm not going to let some little fuck-up like you spoil all that man has worked so hard for."

Spinner's mouth dropped open, although he wasn't exactly surprised. Of course he got stuck with the one officer on the force that was a friend of his father. The asshole didn't believe him. He didn't fucking believe him! This guy thought that Spinner was just some moody, whiny teenager that was mad at Daddy because he took away his cell phone or something. The man shook his head.

"Well, lucky for you, your father has dropped the charges," the man told him, picking up a file and waving it at him. "But if we have another little incident like that again, it's going to be a different story, understand?"

Spin nodded. He understood. He understood that his father was going to get away with everything. He understood that things weren't going to change. He understood that the world was fucked up and unfair and that he was tired and that he just wanted to go home and collapse into bed. But most of all, he understood that he had let Kendra down- he had promised to protect her, but he couldn't. What kind of brother couldn't even protect his own sister? A crappy one, that's what.

So Spin walked out of the police station and got into his father's car with his parents, and nothing was said. They just drove home in silence like nothing had happened, like they had all forgotten. But Spin wouldn't forget.

Ashley stared into the mirror over her sink, staring at the purplish- bruise on her cheek. She grabbed a compact and layered it with powder, but that only made it more noticeable. She swallowed hard, wondering what people were going to say. What was _she _going to say? She knew she could just tell everyone the truth- that she and her boyfriend had gotten in yet another fight and he had hit her in the face. Only once, but it was enough to leave a mark. A rather large mark that was apparently immune to make-up.

She loved Damon- she really did. He needed her, and she needed him, and they both knew it. Damon's mother had killed herself a few years back, and he had been messed up ever since. After Ash had had her emotions tugged back and forth by Craig Manning, Damon had been a pleasant relief. He was totally absorbed in her- he hardly looked at other girls (let alone sleep with them!). Things had been great for the first few weeks, really romantic and sweet and all that. But then they had started fighting, over mostly stupid things, and Ash soon realized Damon had a temper. She could understand that, after everything with his Mom, but when he had started physically lashing out at her, she considered breaking up with him a million different times. But she was scared of what would happen if she did. Damon would fall apart. She shook her head and walked out her bathroom, and then left for school.

Later that afternoon she walked down the hallway of Degrassi, knowing that people were staring at her curiously and whispering about her. She kept her chin tucked in and stared at the ground as she hurried to her locker. God, she wanted this day to be just over. She hadn't seen Damon yet, and she didn't want to. Ash finally got to her locker and opened it up, dumping all her books into it. A second later, of all people, Craig Manning walked up, looking bashful and adorable as usual. She hated that. She hated when Craig looked so irresistible, when he could make her completely forget Damon even existed.

"Ash….how are you doing?" he asked in a quiet voice. He was wearing the leather jacket she had given him a few months ago. She wondered what that meant- he wasn't wearing anything Manny had given him, was he?

"I'm fine," she said with a shrug. "How have you been doing lately?"

"Oh, it's all been really good. I've kind of been seeing my Dad a lot lately. You know, reconnecting and all that," he said. Ash nodded. He didn't have to mention how his father used to beat him- Ash knew all about that. She swallowed hard and stared into her locker. She wondered how many times Craig had showed up to school with bruises.

"Anyway….what happened there?" He gestured to her face.

"Um…this?" she asked, gently touching her cheek. "I got…hit by this….door." Crappy lie, but it was the best she could come up with. Craig stared at her, and she knew he didn't buy it. So what? Why should she give a shit about what Craig Manning thought? He had basically torn her apart. He was dating Manny Santos. He wasn't "her" Craig anymore. He seemed so distant now, like they were strangers. "It was an accident."

Craig leaned in closer. "Was it?" he asked quietly, like they were sharing a secret.

What was with him? Why couldn't he mind his own damn business? "Yes, it was," she said, frowning. "And I really don't see how it's any of your business, considering I'm not your girlfriend anymore. You chose Manny, remember?" She closed her locker and turned to walk off.

"Hold on," Craig said, and he grabbed her wrist to stop her. The wrist that had bruises all over it, courtesy of Damon. Ash winced and wrenched her arm away. Craig noticed her flinch, and suddenly reached over and pulled up her sleeve. "Let me guess- a door did that, too?"

"Leave me alone!" Ash snapped, shaking her head.

"Look, I know what it's like to be knocked around," Craig said slowly. "It's not fun."

"You don't know anything," she hissed.

"I don't know anything?" Craig asked. "I used to come to school with bruises and cuts, hoping people wouldn't notice. And no one did, so I kept going home and getting beat up all the time. But I finally realized that I didn't deserve any of it, so I-"

"That's an interesting little story," Ash interrupted, bending over and picking up her bag. "But it has nothing to do with me. I got hit be a door, ok? Get over it." She turned and stalked away, holding her head high. Stupid Craig Manning. Maybe Damon was a little rough, but at least he wasn't a push-over cheater like Craig. And he didn't stick his nose in places it didn't belong. She sniffed. Well, she was so over Craig.

_So_ over him.

_Why the hell did I even bother to get up this morning?_ Manny wondered to herself as she slowly walked down the hallway, rubbing sleepily at her eyes. After everything she had been through, her mother let her stay home sometimes, just because she knew how much Manny despised school. The only reason she ever bothered coming was because Craig was there, and he at least made her feel a little better.

Manny was the school slut, and she knew it. When she walked down the hall, people whispered about her, no doubt discussing the latest guy she screwed or who she had given a blow-job to in the girl's bathroom. They were all fucking hypocrites- Manny would be anything most of the girls in the school weren't even virgins themselves. But they still walked around starting stupid rumors about her, simply because it made them feel cool.

Manny had gotten used to it, but it still bothered her. Honestly, she didn't really have many friends anymore- mostly just Emma, Riley, J.T and Toby. And of course, Craig, who ignored what people said and made her feel like the most perfect girl ever….but he wasn't stupid. He knew that people talked, and he usually stuck up for her.

She remembered a few weeks ago when Mark Elliot, this slimy pervert on the soccer team, had asked Manny out and she had politely declined. Well, Mark, being the egotistical freak he was, couldn't handle being turned down, so he had started telling everyone that they had had sex in the back of his dad's pick-up truck. Like Manny would really ever have sex with a guy in some smelly, dirty truck. Anyway, Riley had told Manny what everyone was saying, and she had gone crying to Craig about it. That afternoon, Craig and Mark started arguing in front of the entire school, and Craig had given him a bloody nose. As bizarre as it sounded, it showed how much he really loved Manny.

Manny approached her locker, and noticed something sticking out of it. A white rose. Manny smiled softly and pulled it out. _Craig_, she though, smiling happily. It was so typical that Craig would do something like this- it wasn't even a special occasion or anything. Suddenly, Manny's day didn't seem so horrible anymore. She was going to find Craig after school, give him a big kiss, invite him over, and they could have sex all night long.

Manny turned to open her locker and jumped when she saw someone leaning against the locker next to hers, smiling coyly at her._ EW_, she though immediately. Sully. The slime and bane of her existence. Her first instinct was to ignore him and pretend like she hadn't noticed him, but she realized that was probably rude. "Sully…oh, hi," she said, resisting the urge to shiver in disgust. She opened her locker, the rose in her hand.

A minute later, she realized he was still staring at her. It was beginning to get creepy. "May I help you?"

He nodded. "Like the rose?"

Manny glanced at him in surprise. "You gave this to me?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's almost as beautiful as you."

Manny rolled her eyes. A typical, tacky, pick-up line. "Yeah…it's nice," she said, tossing it carelessly into her locker. Now that she knew it wasn't from Craig, it held no sentimental meaning at all. "Why did you give me a flower?"

Sully shrugged. "Why not? I miss you, Manuela."

"Please," Manny said with a snort. Her brief relationship with Sully had been a joke, really. She had only dated him to make sure her new, sexier look was working, and he had only dated her because he was a horny bastard looking for a piece of ass. "You just liked fooling around."

He looked hurt. "Manny, that hurt. It really did. I really care about you. I miss being with the hottest girl in Degrassi." He reached out and slung an arm around her shoulders. She wrinkled her nose and removed his arm.

"Um…._right._ You know I'm with Craig."

"What's your point?"

Manny sighed. "Sully, get over yourself. If you must know the truth, I find you repulsive. Most girls do."

"Spicy," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Sully like."

_Tool_, Manny thought. Ok, this conversation was officially over. She closed her locker. "Oh, it's such a turn-on when you refer to yourself in third person," she said sarcastically. "Look, Sully, we're done. _Forever_. I have a boyfriend, and you have no redeeming qualities. So thanks for the rose and everything, but it's not going to happen." She patted him on the shoulder and walked off. He turned and watched her go, admiring her fine ass.

"I'm not done with you yet, Manuela," he called. Manny smirked as she rounded the corner. He was truly pathetic.

Riley wiggled her toes in the air as she cradled the phone between her chin and shoulder_. Provocative Pink_ was _totally_ her color. She smiled into the phone. "Do you think I have adorable feet?"

"Oh, their perfect," Calvin said. Riley giggled.

"I know. Anyway, what are you doing? I'm terribly bored. Want to meet somewhere? I could really use some….quality time with you," she whispered into the phone in her sexiest voice.

"I'm just going through papers at my desk. I can't tonight, Riley. I'm having dinner with my parent's-in-law," he said. Riley's face immediately fell. The _wife._ Ugh. It was such a complete turn-off when a guy started talking about his wife or her family. Riley stared at her painted toes. "Oh. Well, that sounds like it's going to be blast," she said sarcastically, trying to sound like she didn't care, although she really did. Rule number one of dating an older, married man- always act like you have something better to do. Make him want you. But apparently, tonight, he didn't. _Well, screw him_, she thought.

"Whatever….I'm pretty busy right now, anyway."

"But I thought you just said you were really bored-" Calvin began, but Riley cut him off.

"Anyway, I was thinking about the banquet at the country club tomorrow night," she interrupted loudly. "I have the most amazing dress….it's dark blue and velvet, and I look amazing in it. I was thinking we could mingle a bit, and then I'll go upstairs and meet me up there like last time…" Now, who could refuse a proposition like that? Riley rested her head back on her pillows and smiled into the phone. She didn't love Calvin or anything, but it was fun to know that she has this handsome, delicious older man completely fixated on her.

Calvin cleared his throat. "Well…..I don't think so, Riley. Like I said, my parents-in-law are in town, and we're taking them with us to the country club. How would it look If I disappeared for an hour? But I promise- we'll get together this weekend, alright?"

"You're ditching me for your in-laws?" she barked into the phone. "Unbelievable! I mean….well….that's just stupid!" She really couldn't think of anything else to say. She had never been ditched like this, unless she counted Sean, but she didn't.

"Look, I've got to go. I have to go pick up my son. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" And he hung up.

Riley stared into the phone. What the fuck? She slammed down the phone and folded her arms over her chest. Well, nobody treated Riley that way. Well….except for Sean, but once again, he didn't count. He was the exception to every rule, and she hated it. She hadn't wanted to admit to anyone, but she had seriously (and briefly) thought she was in love with Sean. Now she just looked back and decided it was temporary insanity, but still…..Suddenly, she got a brilliant idea. She sat up and grabbed the phone, and punched in the number. It rang three times, and finally someone picked up.

"Hello?" came a scruffy voice, and Riley couldn't help but smile softly. Sean could be so incredibly sexy. And stupid.

"Sean, guess who?"

He paused for a minute. "Satan?" he said finally.

"No," Riley snapped. "Your favorite person ever, Riley. You know that little deal we made in the janitor's closet? Remember, when I caught you fooling around with that tramp? And I got that picture?"

"_Yes_," Sean said, sighing. "When are you going to get over that?"

"Sean, it was a whole twelve hours ago," Riley pointed out. She twirled the telephone cord around her finger. "I need a little, tiny favor from you," she paused, and then continued. "There's this banquet at the country club tomorrow night, and I need a date."

Sean didn't even have to think. "Fuck no. I'd rather slit my wrists than attend some ritzy social function with you."

"Why not? You should be fucking flattered, Sean. Look, I'll give a tuxedo and I'll buy you dinner and all that crap. It might actually be fun. You know, all the most important people in town are going to be there. I know that's kind of an unfamiliar concept to you, considering your, well….not important, but most people would give anything to go to one of these things. You can pretend like your rich and successful for a night, since it's probably going to be the only time you'll ever get a chance to feel that way. Cuz let's face it-your not really going anywhere, you know what I mean?"

Sean stared at the television screen in front of him. It was amazing how Riley had just basically called him low-life, trailer-trash, yet she thought she was actually being sweet and generous about this. The idea of spending an entire evening with Riley was a revolting thought. "I said no. Find some other poor guy to take you."

"Alright. Could you hold on for one second? I've got to go show Emma this really important picture, so I'll be right back, ok?" she purred, setting down the phone. She chuckled when she heard Sean yelling at her to come back. So she picked it back and smirked. "I guess you're coming, then?"

"Yes. God, I'll go with you. But I want a steak. Like, a 30 oz steak, and two baked potatoes, and dessert."

"Jesus, you're such a glutton," she said. "But fine. I'll come buy around seven to pick you up in my _limo_. You do know what that is, right?"

"Fuck you."

Riley ignored him. "Oh, this is going to be so fun! I can't wait, Sean. I know you're excited. I'll see you later!" And she hung up. She didn't want him to change his mind and back out or something. She picked the bottle of nail polish back up and smiled contently. The truth was, she probably could have found other guys to take her, but she didn't just want some guy. She wanted Sean. And she was going to use him to make Calvin totally jealous- which Sean didn't know about yet, but that didn't really matter. Calvin was totally going to realize he loved her tomorrow night.

_And who knows?_ She thought happily. _Maybe Sean will fall madly in love with me, too! _

It was late, but Paige wasn't tired at all. It was kind of hard to be when you're making out with someone, but she was completely wide awake. She sighed happily as she lay on her bed and as Jimmy began kissing her neck. Her parents would absolutely freak if they walked in and found them making out on her bed, especially since it was Jimmy, and not Spinner she was making out with. But she wasn't worried, because her Dad slept like a bear in hibernation and her Mom always popped more than a few sleeping pills, so they were out for good. She giggled lightly as Jimmy playfully bit at her neck.

"Are you sure you're parents aren't going to come in?" he whispered. Paige shook her head, so Jimmy sat up and pulled off his jersey- shirt and tossed it aside. Paige smiled at him, thinking how dangerous and exciting it was to be doing something sneaky and wrong- and the possibility of getting caught just turned her on even more.

Paige was about to pull off _her_ own shirt when she suddenly heard a thump on the side of her house. She sat up and glanced around. "Wait, what was that?" she whispered.

"I don't know…a bird…." Jimmy said casually, leaning over to kiss her, but Paige pushed him away and stood up. There was another noise, a thump, and then a slight knock on the window. Paige walked over to her window and pushed aside the curtain. Standing on the small ledge outside Spinner, and he waved at her. Instinctively, she pulled the curtains shut, and immediately panicked.

"It's Spin. Get in the closet!" she whispered to Jimmy, who was sitting on her bed, staring at her. He sighed and stood up.

"Look, Paige, maybe we should just come clean and tell Spin the truth right now-"

"Get in the closet!" she hissed at him. She grabbed a pillow off her chair and hurled it at him. "I mean it! Get your bony ass in the closet right now!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes and walked over to the closet, opened the door, and stepped inside. He gave Paige an aggravated look, and then slammed the door shut. Paige sighed; pulled open the curtain, smiled at her boyfriend, and slowly opened the window for him. She stepped aside as he climbed in, and then jumped down onto the floor. She looked at him and frowned. He didn't look good at all. He was pale; there were bags under his eyes, and a small bruise on his forehead.

"God, what the hell happened to you?" she asked. "And why weren't you in school today?"

Spin sighed. "It's a long story," he said. "Don't I even get a kiss?"

Paige bit her lip hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she could bring herself to actually kiss Spin, not with Jimmy lurking in the closet a few feet away. What an awkward situation. Paige nodded slowly and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Baby, what happened?"

Spin sat down on her bed and ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. "I was at the police station all day."

There was a moment of silence, and Paige stared at him, expecting him to continue. Instead, he just sat there, fiddling with the zipper on his sweater. She threw up her hands. "Ok. Thank you for that lengthy explanation. Spin, what happened? Come on, I'm your girlfriend! You have to tell me," she begged, sitting down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Sweetie, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Spin said, looking deep into Paige's deep blue eyes. "I just got in this fight with my Dad, and the police were called….it wasn't a huge deal or anything. I just got questioned and they let me go."

"What was your fight about?"

Spin thought for a second. Should he tell her? On one hand, this was his girlfriend. They could tell each other everything, and they usually did. He trusted her completely. And he had to tell someone the truth. Someone who'd believe him, not like that jackass cop. And Paige would believe him. On the other hand, it was private family business, right? Screw it. He needed to tell her. "My dad….he's been molesting Kendra."

"Oh, Spin," Paige said, resting her head on his shoulder and staring up at him with wide eyes. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "I confronted him about it. He got mad and we just started fighting. I told the police the truth, but the bastard didn't even believe me. I just…I don't know what to do."

"Go to the police."

Spin laughed hollowly. "Been there, done that. They basically just called me some jerk-punk who made it all up. Anyway…" he said, rubbing his eyes. "I just wanted to come over and see you. I just needed you. I love you, Paige."

Paige suddenly remembered that Jimmy was listening to their entire conversation. She smiled softly and nodded. "I love you, too. But you should go home and get some sleep. You look like hell," she said, reaching out and stroking his hair. "We'll talk some more in the morning, alright?" She kissed him, and they both stood up. After saying their good-byes, Spin jumped out the window and climbed back down. Paige slowly closed the window after him, and a second later Jimmy stepped out of the closet. He was hard to see her dark room, but she could tell he was staring at her with a frown on his face.

"I think you should go," she said quietly.

"Paige…."

"No," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't do this anymore. Spin needs me more than anything, and I'm messing around with you. I'm the worst girlfriend ever."

"So what are you saying?" Jimmy asked. "You want to stop seeing each other?" Paige nodded. "Paige, I love you. I really do. I don't want to end this."

"Well, I do," Paige said in determination, even though her heart was telling her to just shut up. "I can't hurt Spin like this. I won't."

They stood there in the dark, silent room for awhile, just staring at each other. They both knew it was wrong, and that they should stop, but they both didn't want to. Finally, Jimmy shrugged and grabbed his shirt off the floor. "Fine. If that's how you feel…I guess this is it." He pulled on his shirt and walked past her to the window. Paige whirled around.

"Wait! We can still be friends….right?"

Jimmy opened the window. "Things just aren't that same anymore, Paige. You know that." And he turned and eased his athletic body through the window. And a second later, he was gone. Just like that. Paige stood there, trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. She wasn't exactly sure, but she knew one thing- she and Jimmy were done. She knew it was the best thing for everyone- Spin needed her, and she needed Spin. They belonged together, and they would stay together. And she'd forget about Jimmy Brooks.

But she couldn't help but wonder if she had just made the worst mistake of her life.


	4. So Cold

Sean slammed his locker shut and heaved his book bag onto his shoulder. He didn't want this day to end-each minute that ticked by only meant he was one minute closer to going out with Riley that night. Why- WHY- had he agreed to do this? It was his own personal form of hell- Riley Corey practically shoving her tongue down his throat, and a room full of snobby, rich people. He didn't belong there- he was a boy form the wrong side of the tracks, and he liked it that way. That's why he and Riley would never work out- they just came from two completely different worlds.

Sean remembered the night he and Riley had ended things- actually, _he_ had ended things. Her parents had been out of town for the weekend, Emma was spending the night at Manny's, so Sean had gone over to Riley's house. The crazy thing was, he had actually been considering ending things with Emma to be with Riley, like an actual couple. What a disaster that would have been. But he went over there, and they had had wild sex, and, to be completely honest, it was the best he'd ever had- with Riley, or with anyone. And then she'd gotten up and put on this really skimpy black lingerie-thing, and Sean stared at her for awhile. And he had realized that although he liked having sex with Roxie, he couldn't imagine having the kind of relationship he had with Emma with her. She was just one of those girls that drew you in and made you think you loved them, but in reality you just loved the _idea_ of them. She was the type of girls that all the guys _wanted_, but didn't want to be with.

Riley had crawled back into a bed, and snuggled up close to him, so he could smell her expensive Channel 5 perfume. "I love you, Sean." Wow. Sean really hadn't been expecting that- he had assumed that Riley was just using him for her amusement, something to do until something better came along. Whatever was between them most certainly wasn't love. He hadn't known what to say. But when he finally opened his mouth, he had said the totally _wrong_ thing.

"I think we should stop seeing each other."

And Riley sat back and stared at him, and then she'd leaped out of bed and ran into the large bathroom that was connected to her room. Sean had sighed miserably, gotten up, and followed her. What else could he do?

"Get the fuck out of here!" Riley yelled when she saw Sean step into the bathroom. "I can't fucking believe you!"

"Riley….you have to understand that-"

"Shut up and get the hell out of my house!" she screamed, stomping out of the bathroom.

"You're not being reasonable here, Riley." It was true- why couldn't she just hear him out? Maybe if she did, she'd realize it would be better if they stopped seeing each other. He followed her back into the bedroom.

"I love you!" Riley cried, whirling to face him, her messy I-Just-Had-Amazing-Sex blonde hair spinning around with her. "I…I thought you felt the same about me."

Sean blanched. This couldn't possibly be the same Riley he had been seeing- the I'm-a-bitch-without-feelings girl that would stab people in the back and watch them bleed, just for the hell of it. He'd never seen Riley cry like this- he'd always assumed she didn't even have the feelings that made crying possible. And suddenly, he realized Riley was real person with real feelings that could be hurt, not just some over-sexed spoiled brat. And he had just trampled all over those feelings.

"It…it was just sex." Horrible, _horrible_ thing to say. Meet Sean Cameron- the world's biggest, most insensitive jerk ever.

"You fucking bastard!" And suddenly she picked up something- Sean hadn't even had time to see what it was- and chucked it at his face. Whatever it was, it sliced Sean's right cheek. Riley was about to grab something else, but Sean hurried over and grabbed her hands. "Let go of me!" she screamed, trying to claw him in the face.

Then they had gotten in this really nasty, physical fight- it was the only time Sean had hit a girl in his life. But Riley was so out-of-control and saying so many horrible things, that Sean felt it was justified. And then he had started getting really pissed off and started saying mean things, too. It was just a mess of screaming and hitting and grabbing. It finally ended when Riley slapped Sean in the face, and Sean pushed her against the wall. Then he'd grabbed his clothes and had stalked out, hoping to never see Riley Corey ever again.

Sean blinked as he began walking down the hallway, remembering that horrible night. A lot of things had been said that shouldn't have been said, but it was weird, because that was the last time they had ever been "together". He began focusing on Emma again, and Riley kind of faded away, keeping her distance from the couple and not coming to school a lot, because she was jetting off on exotic vacations. They'd never talked about that night- they'd both prefer to forget it ever happened. Sean wanted to forget that _they_ had happened. But it was so hard, with Riley suddenly trying to seduce him again. _I'm not falling into her trap again_, he promised himself. Riley was like a poison- just seeped right into you and made you sick.

Sean was just about to head out the main door to the parking lot when he saw someone coming down the hall toward him- a painful reminder of the past, wearing all black with red, straight hair. Sean stopped dead in his tracks, and someone bumped into him from behind and made some snide comment, but Sean ignored them.

_Crowded streets all cleared away  
One by One  
Hollow heroes separate  
As they run_

Ellie was back. _Fuck_.

She looked different. He couldn't exactly say how, but she did. Her red hair was longer, but her skin was still pale and milky and perfectly smooth. She wasn't wearing as much eye makeup as usual. But then thing that was really different was the jaded, disoriented, disturbed look on her face. Like she was so out of it, she didn't even know what the hell was going on. He didn't remember that look before- or maybe it had been there, but he hadn't ever noticed.

_You're so cold  
Keep your hand in mine  
Wise men wonder while  
Strong men die_

"Ellie," he blurted out. No one could ever accuse him of being suave. She looked up. Something flashed in her eyes, but she didn't stop. She barely even acknowledged him, in fact, and just kept going, that same blank look on her face.

"Sean," she said coldly, breezing past him. He practically got frost-bite just being close to her. Damn.

_Show me how it ends it's alright  
Show me how defenseless you really are  
Satisfied and empty inside  
That's alright, let's give this another try_

He wanted to say more. He really did, but he knew he shouldn't. The moment was past, and Ellie had made it perfectly clear how she felt. What had he expected after everything that had happened-for her to squeal with delight and jump into his arms with sheer excitement? Yeah, right. He was lucky he even got a response, as chilly and frigid as it was.

_If you find your family, don't you cry  
In this land of make-believe, dead and dry  
You're so cold, but you feel alive  
Lay your hands on me one last time_

As if things couldn't get any more fucking complicated, Ellie just had come back. That was Ellie for you- coming back at the worst possible time just to fuck with his head. He'd thought that was a phase of his life he had put behind him, just like Riley. Ellie had disappeared, and people were upset at first, but after awhile everyone just got used to it and accepted it. Ellie Nash had cracked under the pressure, and she had run away. But only Sean knew the truth.

And it was such a fucking burden, just to know.

Ellie ducked into the bathroom, letting the door close behind her. She leaned against the door and took a few deep breaths. Why the hell was she letting Sean Cameron get to her like that? He had talked to her- she hadn't been expecting that. But she thought she had handled it well- the cold, bitchy brush-off that Sean deserved. Ellie walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. She leaned over and washed her face with cold water. When she was done, she glanced into the mirror. Ugh- she looked _bad_. Lack of sleep had left large, dark circles under her eyes, and she was completely pale and washed out_. Who cares_, she thought bitterly, turning off the faucet.

Ellie reached into her bag and pulled out a plastic container of vodka and unscrewed the lid. She took a long gulp. She was drinking a lot these days-it had just sort of become her thing. Get up, do whatever needed to be done, drink, do some more things, drink, eat, drink, and go to sleep. Nothing seemed to mean anything to her anymore.

Suddenly, the bathroom door flew open, and of all people, in walked Paige, looking like her usual blonde, bubbly, ambitious self. She was exactly the opposite of everything Ellie was- bright, happy, content. Had a boyfriend that would probably jump off a cliff for her. She saw Ellie and put on her usual trademark-Paige smirk.

"Ellie…back from the dead I see," she said, walking over to the sink next to her. 'Well, almost. Hey-is that vodka you're drinking?" She sounded alarmed.

"Nothing gets past you," she said dryly. She had tolerated Paige while she and Ash had been friends, but why bother now?

"But…like…isn't your Mom an alcoholic?" Paige asked, suddenly looking serious. Like she actually cared about Ellie's well being. Ellie narrowed her eyes.

"Fuck off, Paige," she said, snatching up her bag and tossing it over her shoulder. She turned and stomped out of the bathroom. Good, being back at Degrassi was like living in a concentration camp. Why did she think it would be a good idea to come back?

"Well, it was nice to see you, too!" Paige called after her.

Riley held up and glanced into her compact one more time, wondering if perhaps she should have taken the time to tweeze her eyebrows. A second later, she snapped it shut, and stuffed it into her purse. "Ok. Remember- you're my boyfriend for the night. So shower me with praise and just act like I'm a goddess, alright? Don't be your usual asshole self. Oh and when I'm talking, stare at me for a long time, like your mesmerized by me and in awe that someone as wonderful as I am is actually going out with you."

Sean just sat slumped in the back of the limo, staring out the window with a gloomy look on his face. He wasn't pleased about being there- he was making that clear enough. She assumed that he was only pissed off because she was dragging him to this party, but she didn't know that truth. The truth was, Sean was angry because it reminded him too much of the times he and Riley had spent together. It reminded him of _them._

"Are you getting this, Sean?" Riley snapped, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers. "This is all very important, you know."

"Oh, yes," Sean said sarcastically. "It is all _very_ important business. However will I remember it all? I'm sorry- I seem to have forgotten my "Riley" notebook at home. Do you by chance have a pen? I could right it all down on the back of my hand."

Riley folded her arms over her chest and glared out the window. "Smartass," she muttered, wondering for a second if she had made a mistake by inviting Sean along. But she knew she hadn't- Sean looked super delicious in the tuxedo she had loaned him, even if he did keep grabbing at his stiff collar and making little moaning noises. Riley glanced down at her own outfit, a fitted, strapless, silk pink dress. She pouted a bit, realizing Sean hadn't even said anything about how she looked. Even a sarcastic comment might have been nice- at least it showed he noticed. What did she have to do to make him notice her- pull down her dress and flash him? Sean probably wouldn't even care, anyway-probably just take an disinterested look, yawn, and turn back to staring out his fucking window.

They rode in silence for a few minutes- Sean kept glaring out the window and thinking about Emma, and Riley was darting flirty little glances at him, thinking about how fun it would be for them to make out in the back of the limo, just like old times. Finally, the long car pulled up in front of the country club, and Riley grabbed her purse. "Here we are!" she purred. "Aren't you just bubbling with excitement?"

"Can't you tell?" Sean asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He climbed out of the car, and slammed the door shut behind him. He began walking toward the front entrance, until he realized Riley wasn't following him. He turned and frowned at the car. Finally, Riley opened the door on the other side, and stepped out, looking angry. "I was waiting for you to come around and open the door for me!"

Sean shrugged. "Why can't you open the door yourself? It's not that hard." Riley just slammed the door shut, and stomped toward him.

_What a drama queen,_ Sean thought, scratching the back of his head. _She actually expects people to do everything for her._ But when Riley came around the side of the car, Sean couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked that night. With her shiny pink dress and golden hair, she looked like an angel. He stared at her for a moment. "Wow…you look….great." Wait- had he just said that aloud? He had made a promise to himself long ago to never compliment Riley- it only inflated her already enormous ego. He was dismayed to see Riley smiling at him.

"Really? Why, Sean, did you just say something….nice to me?" she asked in mock disbelief. "I think I should write this down."

"It was a moment of temporary insanity," Sean insisted quickly. Riley just stared at him, a small smile of her face. He sighed. "Alright….you look really amazing tonight, Riley. There- satisfied?"

A few minutes later, they were inside the ballroom, and Riley was quickly surveying the scene. "Oh…there's the Senator's son, Charles," she whispered in awe, nodding across the room to a boy who looked like he had barely managed to fit his ego through the door. "He usually doesn't come to these things."

"Wow," Sean whispered back. "It's almost like we're in the presence of the Lord!"

Riley ignored him and kept talking. "There's noisy Mrs. Hutton. Stay away from her. She smells like old onions and feet. Not to mention she absolutely hates me!"

"Why?"

"Well…I may or may not have locked her daughter in a closet," Riley said. "Twice." Sean decided not ask. Instead he spotted a uniformed waiter waltzing around with a tray of finger food. When the waiter walked past, Sean loaded several small crackers into his hand. He then proceeded to stuff them into his face, and Riley scowled at him.

"Could you please attempt to eat like a human being?" she whispered, nudging him in the side. "And try not to make a total spectacle or yourself? God, you're revolting. There's no way in hell this is going to work," she muttered under her breath, running a hand over her face and sighing. Sean swallowed the food in his mouth and glanced at her.

"What's never going to work?"

"Nothing. Go back to stuffing food into your face."

"No, I heard you. Why exactly did you bring me here, Riley? And why do I have to pretend to be your boyfriend?" he asked, raising his voice. "What are you trying to pull here? I refuse to be a part of your little scheme until you tell me what is going-"

"Would you shut the fuck up?" she hissed, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a nearby corner. "Jesus Christ, why don't you just scream it already?" She subtly glanced around, and flicked an imaginary piece of lint off her dress. "Fine….if you must know, I'm using you." There. At least she had the guts to put it blatantly. "There's someone here I'm trying to make jealous. Not that anyone would ever be jealous of you, but…I really need you to act like you're in love with me so he realizes what he's missing. Oh, and if I ditch you to go off with him, just find some pathetic girl to dance with you, ok?"

Sean stared at her in sheer amazement. This girl was really something- something pure evil. Staring at Riley right now, knowing the sick, twisted things that went on in her head, made him really appreciate a great girl like Emma. Why was he always cheating on her with these random girls that meant absolutely nothing to him? He often didn't even bother to get their names. Well, that was going to stop now. "Fine. I'll participate in your fucked up little game, but just so you know, I'm _never _going to cheat on Emma again."

Riley snorted as she stared intently at someone coming through the door. "Yeah, _ok_. Cut to five minutes from now, when you're doing some girl up against a wall in the bathroom." She tore her eyes from the door and grinned at him deviously. "You know, that girl could be me," she said, putting a suggestive hand on his arm. Sean made a face and shoved her hand away.

"Ew._ Sick_."

Riley frowned unhappily and went back to staring at whatever she was looking at, and Sean turned and craned his head to see what was obviously so fascinating to her. But as soon as she did, she grabbed his hand and whirled him around. "Don't make it so obvious," she whispered urgently. "Oh, shit. Now he's talking to my Dad, and their coming this way."

Sean glanced over at the couple walking toward them with who must have been Riley's father- a tall, tan man with wavy brown hair. The woman was wearing a long, blue beaded gown, and her husband was wearing a crisp tuxedo. Sean smirked. "Are you kidding me? That's the dude? He's like, eighty-nine. Where's his walker?"

"Fuck you," Riley hissed, plastering a large smile on her face. "He's in his late-twenties at the most. And he's already more successful than you'll ever be. Wrap your arm around me." Sean did as he was told. They approached, and Riley's father leaned in to give his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Riley, you remember Calvin and Georgia don't you?"

Riley nodded pleasantly; all the while devious thoughts were whirling through her head. _Remember him- I remember every inch of him….his washboard abs, his sweet lips, his soft hands traveling all over my body…_Roxie almost blushed thinking about it, but she brazenly looked Calvin in the eye, daring him to look back. He did, and something just clicked. Roxie wondered if he was thinking the same things about her- wouldn't it be deliciously naughty if they were both standing there, thinking these sexy, intimate thoughts about each other right in front of his wife and her father? It really turned Riley on.

"It's nice to see you again, Calvin….oh, and Rebecca," Riley said, letting just a bit of disdain drip into her voice in the last part.

"And who is this young fellow with you?" Riley's father asked, sticking out a hand to Sean.

"Sean Cameron," he replied, reaching out and firmly shaking his hand. It was smooth and soft- the hands of someone who had never had to do a hard days work in his life. Sean reminded himself that he was among the richest people in town, and money was something Sean wasn't particularly familiar with. He briefly wondered what it would be like to have everything done for him, to have everything handed to him on a silver platter and to be able to buy whatever and whoever he wanted. Then he shook his head, thinking that if he did have all that, he would end up just like Riley- snobby and self-centered. He was better off poor.

"Nice to meet you, Sean," her father said. "I hope your treating my daughter right. She's very special, isn't she?"

Sean nodded. "Oh, yes. She's a keeper. A real gem." What he really wanted to say was-_ Sir, you're daughter is the Anti-Christ. It would be a great service to the world if you just killed her._ But that wasn't a very boy-friendly-thing to say, now was it?

Riley smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "This is my boyfriend, Daddy." She saw Calvin frown out of the corner of her eye, and continued. "I've been wanting you to meet him for the longest time. He's very special to me." She cuddled up close to Sean, who had to resist the urge to step away. Calvin glanced away, as if inspecting the party, but Riley knew he was bothered. _Got ya!_ She thought victoriously, smiling at Sean. Her father smiled cheerfully and nodded.

"We're glad you could come. Darling, you'll never believe who's coming tonight," he said mysteriously. "Jade Harlem! She's back in town for awhile, and she's promised to attend. There's probably going to be a swarm of paparazzi arriving shortly!"

Riley's face fell, and she dropped Sean's hand. "Jade Harlem?"

Sean glanced at her, wondering why she looked like someone had just stolen her Prada purse. Jade Harlem- hell, even he'd heard of her. She was a professional socialite, very hot right now, who had grown up in their town, but had recently moved to L.A. You couldn't pick up a magazine without her picture plastered on the cover. Translation- media whore. A from the looks of it, she and Riley weren't the best of friends. "Well, I hope you'll excuse us. It was great meeting you, Cameron," Riley's father said.

"It's Sean."

"Right. Sean. We'll talk later." He turned and nodded at the couple, and the three walked off, leaving them alone. Riley had her arms folded over her chest and she was pouting. Sean sighed, and decided to pretend like he cared. "What's the matter? You have a problem with Jade Harlem?" Riley pouted some more.

"Ha!" she said with a haughty snort, snatching a glass of champagne from a waiter as they passed. She took a long sip and narrowed her pretty green eyes. "That bitch? Why would I waste my timer hating her, when they are plenty of other perfectly good people to despise? God, I hate the way she throws herself in front of the camera. Like she totally didn't' pose for those skinny dipping shots that showed up in _People_ last month_. Whatever_. Everyone's all- oh, Jade, come over her! We love to photograph drugged up, washed up, sluts!" She took a deep breath and turned to Sean. "But no, I have no problem with her," she replied casually.

"Hey, maybe if you do go off with Calvin, I'll ask her to dance," Sean said with a shrug, merely trying to get under her skin. Riley narrowed her eyes menacingly at him. If looks could kill….

"You better not even think about it, or I'll fucking kill you," she warned. "In fact, don't go near her, don't look at her, don't even_ think_ about her."

"Weren't you guy's friends when you were little?"

"_Were _friends. Past tense. Fuck it. I'm going to the bathroom," she said, thrusting her half-full glass at Sean and flipping her hair over her shoulder. "And you better be right here when I get back, understood?" She turned and scurried toward the bathrooms.

Sean stared into the champagne class, shaking his head. _What the hell did I get myself into?_

Ash was an idiot.

She was willing to admit it. Just the other day she had vowed that she was through with Damon- how many times could he apologize for hitting her? How many times could he promise her he would never get violent again? She would be alone again, and she'd have to suffer through watching Craig and Manny together while she didn't have anybody, but ultimately, she'd be better off. No more bruises or cuts. No more excuses. No matter what, she wasn't going to forgive Damon this time- enough was enough.

Hmm…so why was she sitting in Damon's car, making out with him? That wasn't part of the plan.

But Damon had showed up on her doorstep holding a bouquet of roses and looking at her with miserable, apologetic eyes. He'd apologized, promised it wouldn't happen again, vowed to treat her better, because she deserved better. She agreed. He'd said it was the anniversary of his Mother's death, and that he had just spent an hour in the cemetery, sitting by his mother's grave. He said he loved her; he said he could change. He started gravelling pathetically, begging her to reconsider and to hear him out.

But you know what the most pathetic thing was? Ash actually took him back.

She'd felt totally guilty- who could break someone's heart, especially on the day that their mother had blown their brains out with a semi-automatic a few years before? Who could tear someone up just because they had a bit of a temper and got a little crazy sometimes? Damon wasn't perfect, but neither was she. And if she didn't have Damon, she wouldn't have anybody.

So here they were, at the town's most popular parking spot for teens, making up for lost time. Ash listened to the romantic music that was playing on the radio- a woman singing softly about falling in and out of love- as Damon made a trail of kisses down her neck to her collar bone. They had been kissing for the last twenty minutes, lost in their own little world, their own little paradise. And Damon kept stopping in between kisses to tell her how much he loved her and how much he needed her.

A few minutes later, Damon began working his hands up Ashley's black-t-shirt, and she let him. She even let him slip his hands under her bra. His cool, soft hands felt good on her skin. But when his hands traveled around to her back and tried to unbuckle her bra, Ash decided to draw the line. She pushed him away gently and sat up. Damon sat back, looking disappointed. "What?" he asked. Ash bit her lip.

How did she put this? The truth was, she wasn't sure if she was ready to have sex with him. They always fooled around, touching each other and usually just taking off their shirts, and Ash had only taken off her bra once. So maybe she was ready to have sex, but not in some car in some stupid parking lot. She'd wanted their first time to be special, magical, _perfect_. She pictured candles. She pictured a soft bed with silk sheets, covered in rose petals. She didn't picture the cramped backseat of a car. "Um…I don't want to do this."

"Why not?"

"Well…we're in a car, Damon."

"I'm aware of that. What's the problem?" He was staring at her with that intense look in his eyes. The look that never meant anything good.

"Well…I'm not ready, ok?"

"Ok…." he said, scooting back over and starting to kiss her again. She wondered if he understood what she had meant, and got her answer when he slipped his hands under her skirt and his hands began moving up her thighs. "Damon!" she said firmly, but he continued to kiss her. She shoved his hands away. "Didn't you just hear what I said?"

"Come on….I really want you," he muttered into her hair. He gently pushed her down in the seat. "I know you want me."

"Damon, stop!" She placed her hands on his chest and pushed with all her might, but he didn't budge. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them down behind her head with one hand, and then put his hand up her shirt with the other, kissing her the whole time.

_Shit_, she thought. _He's going to rape me_, she thought. "I said stop!" she screamed, but he ignored her, hastily unbuckling his belt with his free hand. Ash wiggled one arm out of his grasp, and reached up and punched him in the nose as hard as she could. He wheeled back, stunned, as a small amount of blood formed in his nose. "You bitch," he hissed. "What the fuck are you doing? Why are you being like this?"

"Why am….me?" she choked out, sitting up. "I said stop."

Damon reached out and grabbed her wrist again. "You're my girlfriend. You're supposed to _want_ to sleep with me."

"You said you were going to change," she said sadly, tears forming in her eyes. "You…you haven't changed at all. You're still….you're still…"

"This is about Craig, isn't it?" Damon asked coldly, jerking her arm around. "I saw you talking to him by your locker. I bet your fucking him, aren't you?"

"No! That's not it at all! I've moved on. A part of me will always love him, but-"

"You love him!" Damon yelled, shaking his head. "What the fuck!"

"Let go of my arm!" Ash whimpered. "I don't love Craig! I hate when you're like this!"

Damon roughly let go of her arm. "Get out of the car. If you hate me so much, find your own ride home."

Ash didn't stop to think, or argue, or anything. She immediately opened the door, and stumbled out. Damon grabbed her jacket and hurled it at her. She closed the door, and he sped off, leaving her abandoned in the parking lot. She clutched onto her jacket, hardly even thinking about how she was going to get home. _He isn't different_, she thought, tears streaming down her face. _How stupid are you_? _Falling for his crap all over again._

She numbly walked over to a rock along the side of the parking lot. And then she sat down on it, and sobbed.

Riley yanked a brush through her hair, glaring at her reflection. What was the point in trying to look nice, anyway? Calvin was too absorbed in his wife to even notice Riley was there, and Sean hated her too much to really give a crap what she looked like. _This is such a shitty night_, she reflected, tossing her brush back into her purse. _Calvin hasn't come crawling back to me on his knees yet, and Sean is still treating me like the plague!_

Riley reapplied her frosty pink lip gloss. Things between her and Sean had ended pretty badly- in fact, he'd had to get stitches on his right cheek because of it. Riley had pretty much known things were over when she had thrown a letter-opened at him. After that night, Riley had gotten really depressed. She had deluded herself into thinking Sean loved her, but in reality he had only been using her for sex. They hadn't talked about it at all- Sean obviously wasn't man enough to live up to what he did. The bastard. Who messed with Riley Corey and lived to tell about it? She stuffed her lip gloss in her purse and zipped it up. _You know what- I think its time we finally get it out in the open_, she decided. She turned and confidently walked out of the bathroom. She found Sean standing exactly where she had left him- at least he took commands well.

"Sean, I think we need to talk," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

Sean shrugged. "Yeah? About what?"

"About why we broke up," she said. "You can't just come into my house, sleep with me, and then-"

"Riley, that was a long time ago," he said in a low voice, glancing around. "Don't pretend like your some wounded, hurt little victim here. You were all over Jake Dancer a whole week after it happened. I'm with Emma, and you're doing your whole little "Riley" thing, so can we please just not talk about this now? It was a mistake. _We _were a mistake."

Riley stared at him. He didn't get it- he really didn't get it. It had meant something to her- more than he could ever understand. And she was pretty fucked up after it happened, but then again, he hadn't bothered to see how she was doing, so he wouldn't know that, right? She opened her mouth to tell him how very wrong he was, but suddenly something caught her eye. There was a big commotion near the door, and Riley immediately knew who had arrived- the infamous Jade Harlem, in all her slutty glory. Riley completely forgot about Sean for a minute.

They had been best friends- practically inseparable. Riley had even stuck by Jade during her mother's messy stint in rehab, which had practically been a field-day for the press. But then Jade had turned around and stabbed Riley in the back, which was something Riley could never forgive. And now Jade was a darling of the media- her every move recorded by somebody. Riley wasn't jealous- not really. So Jade had legs that went on forever, luscious chocolate locks, and a body that made men stop, turn, and take a second look- even the really old ones with wives and kids. Big fucking deal.

"Wow," Sean said, apparently forgetting their conversation, too. Jade walked in, demanding everyone's attention in the room, which she got. She was wearing a white sheath that looked great on her long, lean frame, and her brown hair was flowing in soft curls down her shoulders_. I fucking hate her_, Riley realized. She smacked Sean in the chest.

"Don't you remember what I said?' she hissed. Sean blinked and looked at her, as if he had forgotten she was ever there. "What?" he asked. Riley threw up her hands.

"What is it about her that makes reasonably intelligent men suddenly go retarded?" she asked no one in particular. Sean smirked and shrugged. Riley frowned when she realized that Jade had spotted her, and she was _actually walking over _to her. _That bitch better not try to talk to me!_

"Riley!" Jade said, smiling her big, platinum white smile. "You're looking amazing. I think I saw that dress on the runway at _last season's_ Paris fashion show. Oh, but I'm sure it's still very in."

"Jade!" Riley said, plastering a large smile on her own face. "It's great to see you! You're looking better than ever- it's nice to see that the scarring from your nose job was only minimal. You look just amazing, though." When it came to Battle of the Bitches, Riley knew the rules- there were no rules Jade just nodded and gave Sean the once over, and Riley could tell Jade was clearly interested. She snatched Sean's hand and smiled. "Jade, this is my boyfriend, Sean. Where's your boyfriend."

"Shooting a movie in Milan with Brad Pitt," Jade shot back easily, placing a hand on her hip and grinning at Sean. "Sean, I'm Jade. It's fantastic to meet you."

"Hi," Sean mumbled nervously. Riley stared at him- was he actually blushing? Loser.

"Well, it was….nice seeing you," Riley said pointedly. "But I'm sure there are just bunches of people you want to see, and I'm thirsty, so Sean is going to go get me a drink," she said, practically shoving Sean across the room toward the bar. Sean smiled at Jade and walked away. Jade nodded.

"Nice choice, Riley," Jade said. "You're right- there are so many people who are dying to talk to me." She blew Riley a small kiss. "Kisses." And she turned and flounced off. Riley resisted the urge to run after her, grab the back of her perfect, expensive dress, and just rip it off. Not to mention Jade had had tough-talking Sean Cameron practically drooling like an idiot.

_Bitch_, she thought.

Manny was having one of her tantrums again. She'd starting having them a few months ago- she'd get all hyper and excited, and then she'd suddenly get moody and frustrated and violent. They were really starting to scare Craig, because Manny just wasn't Manny anymore. Sometimes she was all fine, sweet, and normal, smiling and laughing, and then she'd suddenly do this Jekyll-Hyde act where she suddenly wanted to kill everyone. She'd even punched him once- not that hard, but it had left a small bruise on his chest. He couldn't figure it out. Hell, he couldn't figure Manny out. But he still loved her- that had to count for something.

"Manny, it's ok," Craig said. He was sitting on his bed, watching as Manny paced back and forth in front of him, nibbling on her nails. "Come sit down." He tried to reach out for her hand, but she pulled it away.

"You don't understand, Craig. You don't," she whined, looking at him with terrified eyes. "Emma and I got in another fight today. She hates me. I lost my best friend."

'Oh, I'm sure that's not true," he said, trying to make her feel better. She nibbled on her nails again and shook her head.

"No, it's not. She hates me. Everyone hates me. You hate me, don't you?" she accused, staring at him intently. Craig ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He didn't get it. He just didn't get it. Why was she pulling this crap with him- she knew he loved her. He'd told her a million times. He sighed. "No, you know I don't hate you. Calm down. Everything is going to be fine."

That set her off. "No, things aren't going to be fine!" she screamed, and Craig winced. Angela was sleeping in the next room, but she was probably awake now. "You don't know anything!" Suddenly, she reached out and punched the mirror over Craig's dresser with her fist. Craig watched in horror as the mirror cracked. What the fuck was going on? He had wanted to spend a nice evening alone with Manny, maybe watch a movie or something. Not have her come over and start screaming and vandalizing his room. This was getting out of hand. He decided to just get Manny in the car and take her home.

Manny's hand was bleeding, and she was staring at it in horror. "Oh, no. I'm sorry, Craig!" she said, bursting into tears. "I'm sorry…"

Craig hurried over to her and wrapped an arm around her. "No, Manny, it's ok. You're just a little…upset."

Manny buried her face in his shoulder as she cried. "I did something horrible, Craig. You'll hate me," he heard her mumble into his jacket. He frowned and rubbed her silky, black hair.

"I can get another mirror-"

"No! It's not that!" she said, sniffling. "You'll hate me. I know you will. I'm not who you think I am. I'm a horrible, horrible person. You'll hate me. I hate myself."

Craig stared down at her head, and then glanced at her bloodied hand that would need to be bandaged. He wondered what was so horrible- what could she have possibly done? And why was she acting like this? Her fits were bad, but never this bad, when she'd break things and start crying hysterically. Craig was really worried now. Was Manny on drugs or something? He had to wonder. She did hang out with that Riley Corey, and everyone knew what a junkie that girl was. He didn't want to ask- she was too upset right now. She could hardly even string together coherent sentences, let alone answer a question like that.

"I'll love you no matter what," he promised, knowing it was true. She shook her head. "Manny, I love you. I really do. I'm just worried about you…"

"I'm worried about me, too." She opened her mouth, about to tell him her horrible secret. She'd killed thier baby, she was using drugs, she wasn't the girl he'd fallen in love with. She had these little fits because she had taken something- she couldn't even remember what, except that Riley had given it to her. She was lost, and scared, and nothing was going to be alright, because she hated herself for what she did. And no matter what he said now, Manny knew that if he found out, he'd hate her, too. And she couldn't lose Craig- he was the one thing that kept her from just completely going over the edge. Losing him would be worse than dying.

"I love you, Craig," she whispered_. I just wish I could love me, too._

_Author's Note_- Finally Updated! There will be more about Sean and Riley in the next chapter, so keep reading! And probably more Paige/Spin/Jimmy. And whats going on with Ellie and Sean?! Please keep reading and reviewing and give me any ideas (I could use them.) THe song in there is "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin. And check out my other stories, too! THanks!


	5. No Mercy

Riley shipped her champagne and surveyed the crowded ballroom. She spotted Sean in the corner, talking with…Jade, of all people. She should have figured- introducing her boyfriend to Jade was equivalent to putting a big sticker on Sean's forehead reading "Flirt Profusely; Attempt to Steal". _Oh, fucking hell_, she thought angrily, watching as Jade tossed her impossibly shiny hair over one shoulder and giving a loud, high-pitched laugh. Sean was so not _that_ funny. He wasn't charming. He wasn't smart, or anything even remotely close to smart. What- _what the hell_- could he possibly be saying that was so hilarious that made Jade giggle and snort like that? She took another drink from her glass, trying to convince herself she wasn't jealous, because jealousy was a sign of weakness, and Riley refused to be weak. She was Riley Corey, for God's sake! When she went to a party, all her eyes were on her. She was the top-dog, the girl that could make or break every party and every boy's fragile little heart. And now Jade had stomped back into her life, charming Sean- her Sean- and making Riley feel much like the morbidly obese, acne-faced, greasy haired girl that sat in the back of her Biology class, with all the attention she was getting. Not one boy had even asked her to dance yet. Riley concluded they all must be blind.

Well, she wasn't going to hover in the corner and watch Sean and Jade's nauseating acts of utter stupidity. She spotted Calvin ordering drinks at the bar, so she scooted over there, knowing this was her chance. She walked up behind him, smiling deviously. "Hey, sexy," she whispered from behind into his ear, her hot breath tickling the side of his neck. _Ha_. No boy could resist her trademark move.

Calvin turned slightly. "Riley," he muttered, glancing around nervously. "Um…you look gorgeous in that dress."

"Thanks," Riley purred. "You know, it comes off easily." She grabbed his hand. "So let's go. I'm just had a million glasses of wine and I'm feeling rather-"

Calvin pulled his hand away, shaking his head. "I told you, Riley. I can't tonight. Not with my in-laws here. You look beautiful, and I wish it were different, but I'm sorry." Riley's mouth fell open in shock. The bartender came up and placed his drinks on the counter. Calvin turned and picked them up. "I'm sorry." And he turned and walked off, undoubtedly crawling back to his miserable wife and her miserable parents.

Riley stood perfectly still for a long moment, trying to fully comprehend this terrible blow to her ego. She had just been turned down. Blatantly, flat-out rejected. She leaned against the bar and shook her head. "Jesus fucking Christ!" she said loudly, to no one in particular. "Men. They are just so….stupid! Their all fucking bastards put on this Earth to make woman miserable. I swear to God, I'm through with all men from this moment on…" She turned and saw the bartender staring at her. "What the hell are you looking at?" she growled. "Give me something to drink!"

"Um…what would you like, miss?"

"I don't fucking care. Just put a lot of alcohol in it and make it fast," she said, plopping down on a stool. The man nodded and scurried to make her drink, not caring about her obvious under-agedness. They never bothered with ages. You just _didn't_ at events like these. The bartenders were hired to come and serve alcohol to whoever the hell paid, even if it was an eight-year-old kid missing a liver.

Roxie rested her chin in her hands and sighed. _No Sean, no Calvin_, she thought sadly. _Fuck them_.

"You know, I modeled in six fashion shows in the last month," Jade bragged, tossing her hair over her shoulder for the millionth time. She smiled and tried to look modest, but it wasn't working. "They all said I had the perfect body for runways, which I've always thought, but my agent wasn't thrilled about the shows. She told me I should start focusing on my acting career, you know, making sure people start taking me seriously. Everyone just thinks I'm some gorgeous party girl." She suddenly got serious. "But I'm so much more."

Sean itched his fore head and smiled. "Yeah…I bet you are." Actually, Sean suspected that underneath all the snobby superficiality, there was even more snobby superficiality. At first, Sean had been thrilled to talk to Jade- she was clearly interested in him, and wow- that body. But he realized that talking to her was about as interesting as talking to a wall. Conversation with a wall would probably be more stimulating, though. Ok, so Jade was boring, but it was killing Sean to know that all he had to do was take her hand, whisper a few words in her ear, take her somewhere private, and within minutes they'd be having wild, passionate sex. It would be that easy. But he had promised himself to stay faithful to Emma, and he was sticking with that.

He really didn't want to mess around with Jade much, anyway. Believe it or not, he would have actually preferred talking to Riley, which said a lot. Jade began talking about a new dress she had bought that afternoon, and Sean began searching for Riley._ Please, please, God- let her be here_. He finally saw a blonde figure sitting at the bar, wearing a shimmering pink dress. "Uh, excuse me."

Jade frowned. She clearly hated being interrupted. "Uh, yeah?"

"I really need to talk to Riley," he lied, smiling apologetically. He slowly began inching away. "So…I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"But-" Too late. Sean was making a bee-line for the bar.

"Riley," Sean said, walking up to her. He leaned against the bar next to her. "I never thought I'd ever say this, but boy am I happy to see you."

Riley turned to him. "What? Bored with your little Barbie…princess- thing over there?" she asked, slurring slightly. She blinked and swayed. "Well, I told you, didn't I? That girl….God, I hate that girl."

Drunk. That's what Riley was- plain and simply drunk. Sean almost laughed, because drunk Riley was always more interesting than regular Riley. He remembered one time, when they had both had a lot to drink; Riley had suggested climbing onto a bridge and jumping off it into the river. So they had, and Riley had taken off all of her clothes and dived right in. Sean chuckled to himself, remembering. Good old, drunk Riley. She never failed to please. "Whoa. Somebody's been hitting the bar pretty hard, huh?" He nudged her.

"What- a girl can't have a drink around here?" she asked defensively. "Calvin ditched me- for his wife."

"And that's surprising because…"

"Fuck you. He said he loved me, Sean. At least I think he did," she said, looking confused for a second. But she quickly shook her head and gestured with her arm, her drink sloshing in her cup. "The point is, he meant something to me. And I was supposed to mean something to him. I loved him, you know. Honestly- I think I did. We had the best sex, too. We even had sex on his dining room table and-"

Sean couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself- it was all too priceless. "Alright, alright. As much as I'd love to hear intimate details about you sex life, let's keep it down, ok? You're practically screaming."

"Fine," Riley mumbled, hunching over and sighing. "All alone. We're all alone, always, Sean. Wait- you have Emma."

"Yeah, I do have Emma."

"Well, she's no prize," Riley replied, shaking her head. Sean gave her a look, which she ignored. "But at least you got somebody. Me…I'm unlovable."

"That's not…completely true."

"Yes it is," she insisted. "No boy has ever wanted to stay with me for more than a few weeks. Face it- I'm just a good fuck. That's all the boys think. Including you."

That wasn't true. He knew that he should tell her that- that she hadn't been just a good time, an easy lay. She had been so much more to him, a fact that, to this day, still astounded him. Riley was everything Emma wasn't- loud, wild, selfish, even cruel, but she had still managed to touch him in a way no one ever had. As corny as it was, it was like Riley was able to look right into his soul. _God, you sound so gay_, he thought. If he ever told Riley that, she'd probably burst out laughing and toss out one of her scathing insults. Nope. That information was never leaving Sean's head. So instead of making her feel better, he just grabbed a handful of peanuts from a bowl and remained silent.

Riley stared at him and sighed. "It's pathetic, really. Alright. MR. BARTENDER!" she screamed. Sean winced and glanced around in embarrassment. "Bring my good man here whatever I'm having," she ordered in her usual bossy tone, trying to pat Sean on the shoulder and polish off her drink at the same time. When she did, she slid the glass across the counter. "And refill mine, got it?"

Within seconds, a glass appeared in front of Sean, and he shifted uncomfortably. Riley did know him- and she knew that alcohol was his greatest weakness. See, he had this theory that alcohol was the best friend a person could ever have. Friends just do dumb shit and make you feel like crap, but alcohol….it simply would never let you down. It would never abandon you, or try to tell you what to do, or anything like that. Sean tapped his fingers against the counter, and eyed the glass, knowing that Riley was watching him intently. She finally laughed loudly and nudged him in the arm. "Hey. That's not gonna drink itself, ya know. I didn't get it so you could stare at it, dumbass."

So Sean took a sip. A small,_ tiny_ sip, just to get the flavor. But that sip turned into another, and that turned into another….and soon, Sean was as just as tanked as Riley. They sat at the bar, laughing about absolutely nothing and making idiots out of themselves, but what did they care? It was a party, and not even a very good one at that, But they had unlimited access to whatever kind of alcohol they desired, and for once, Sean had enough money to pay for it all. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up. So Sean kept stupidly allowing Riley to order him drink after drink, and he drank them all, without thinking twice.

"You know, we're too peas in a pod, Sean," Riley finally said, giggling. "I'm serious, though. You and me…we like, think alike, you know?" She ran a hand through his hair. "You know, like sleeping around and all that. Everyone else thinks it wrong, but we don't. We understand, that like, it's, like, _necessary_, you know? Seriously. You're my soul sister, Seanny."

Sean laughed. "You mean…soul brother?" God, was he plastered.

Riley frowned. "What? _Whatever._" She smiled at him, and twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger. "Sean, do you think I look good in this dress?"

Sean gave her the once-over. "You look….awesome. Good enough to…" he leaned over close to her. "The things I could do to you right now…" he muttered in her ear, and she giggled loudly. He frowned to himself- that had totally been the drinks talking.

"Why don't you show me?" she whispered, and he smiled and shook his head. "Oh, come on, Seanny. Just forget about everything, and be with me. For one night. I know you want too, so don't even pretend." She kissed him lightly on the lips and smiled suggestively. "I promise, you won't regret it."

Oh, but he would. He would severely regret it. Yet, in his incompetent, drunken stupor, he was actually tempted by the proposition. _Why not? _He wondered. He could go with Riley, and it would be just like old times. They'd drink some more, have mind-blowing sex, smoke some pot, and just relax. With Emma, he didn't do any of that. And he meant _any_ of that. Yes, he had yet to sleep with Emma, because she was trying to keep her "virginal perfection" intact. It was funny, because she never seemed to question why he didn't push her for sex, or try to pressure her into doing it. The answer- he was getting in somewhere else. It was horribly, disgustingly wrong, but that's just how it was. And somehow, in Sean's mind, not being able to have sex with Emma justified cheating on her.

"Come on," she whispered, grabbing his thigh and squeezing it.

There was a second of hesitation, a second of pure sanity, but he shoved it aside and stood up. "Alright," he said curtly, setting down his drink. "Let's go." He roughly grabbed her hand, and she giggled uncontrollably as he pulled her across the dance floor.

A few minutes later they jumped into the empty elevator which led to the higher floors, which had all the guest suites. Sean pressed the button, and then Riley grabbed him and began urgently kissing him, as if she was afraid it would all end at any moment. They continued making out until the elevator reached their floor, and the doors flew open. They stumbled out, both laughing and both completely turned on, and the hurried toward the room they had gotten.

They fooled around for awhile on the large bed, kissing and talking dirty and touching each other all over. Riley finally fell back against the pillows, grabbed Sean's collar, and pulled him down on top of her. "I want you, Sean," she murmured in an irresistible, breathy voice. Sean nodded. "I…want you…too," he replied, in between kisses. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom. He always had one handy. She took it, and ripped it open.

It was the sound of the condom that got him. The tiny, faint ripping noise was barely audible, but it symbolized so much. What the fuck was he thinking? Was he really on the verge of starting it all over again- a volatile and disastrous relationship with Riley? He didn't care what anyone said- the girl was mentally unstable, seriously deranged. And no matter what he told himself, a one night stand with Riley was never just a one night stand. There would be another night, and another, and another, and everything would become hopelessly fucked up again. So he did the only thing he could do- he shoved Riley off the bed.

"Hey! What the fuck?" Riley asked, completely pissed off.

Sean leaned back on the pillows and ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. It's not happening."

"WHAT?" she screeched, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. "_No_. No way. You do not string me along like that, leading me on and all that bullshit, and then refuse to actually have sex." She shook her head and jumped back onto the bed. "No. We're _so _doing this." She leaned toward him and tried to unbutton the buttons on his shirt.

"No!" Sean insisted, trying to fend Riley off. "This is considered rape!"

"Oh, Jesus," Riley snarled, sitting back. "I can't fucking believe this. What is the matter with you?"

"What?" Was she actually yelling at him for a conscience, something she obviously lacked, considering Emma was her friend?

"No, seriously. What is wrong with you?" she asked, reaching over and picking up a cigarette off the bed stand. "You're sitting in a hotel room with a girl- an extremely gorgeous girl- who's practically begging you to sleep with them, and you're saying no." She stared at him in disbelief as she lit the cigarette. "It's fucking ridiculous. What- do you think you're suddenly too good for me or something? Because, you'd be sorely mistaken."

Oh. Not this bullshit again. Sean grabbed his shirt and shook his head. "No. Why can't you just face it- _someone doesn't want you._ Just because you shake your hips and bat your little eyelashes, it doesn't mean people automatically want to fuck you. You're not all that." Reality check. If there was one thing Riley couldn't handle, it was being told she wasn't as extremely desirable as she had always thought. Riley narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, really?" she asked, flicking her cigarette so the ashes fell carelessly onto the bed-spread. "Then explain to me exactly why you were messing around with me behind Emma's back. You're such a horrible boyfriend. I mean, the worst I have ever seen."

"Oh, and how would you know anything about boyfriends?" he retorted. "You haven't had a boyfriend long enough to know, since no guy ever sticks around for more than _a week_. They just screw with you a few times, and then walk away and _laugh_. " The look on Riley's face was so priceless; he wished he could take a picture, frame it, and hang it on his wall. At least he had hit her exactly where it hurt.

"You don't know shit," she hissed. "You don't know anything about me. You think you do, but you don't."

"I know enough," he said, buttoning his dress shirt. "You're spoiled and self-centered, you only care about yourself, you sleep with anything that has two legs, and your so fucked up on drugs all the time that it's-"

"So that's it," she interrupted. "You think I'm just a junkie. A slut. You know, you don't get anywhere in this fucking world if you don't watch out for yourself first and foremost. Survival of the fittest and all that bull. So you think that just because I put myself first and do some drugs occasionally, I'm a horrible person with no feelings."

Sean laughed, although he didn't mean to. It just sort of slipped out. "Yep. Pretty much summed it up. A junkie slut."

He knew it was coming, even as the words spilled out of his mouth. He'd dug to deep, pushed her too far. Riley could trade insults back and forth with you all day, but when you hit the real stuff- the stuff she knew was true- well, you were done. She'd fuck you up, mind and body. Sean knew better, but he'd said it anyway. He'd hardly blinked before she had reached out and grabbed a courtesy drinking class, and hurled it at him. _Holy fuck_. It came flying as his face, and Sean ducked. It flew over his shoulder and crashed against the door. Sean turned to her with wide eyes.

"Shit. What the hell? You could have fucking killed me!"

"That was the point," she snapped. He stared at her. She was still lounging casually on the bed, her feet crossed at the ankles and her half-smoked cigarette dangling from her hand. Like she just hadn't thrown a glass _at his face_. "Lucky for you, I have poor aim."

"I'm leaving," Sean said, grabbing his tuxedo jacket. "If you'd like your suit back, you can find it in the trash can."

"No. Keep it. Maybe you can even sell it for a few quarters at one of those white-trash markets you people have. Treat yourself to a nice Big Mac at McDonald's, splurge for once."

"Maybe. And maybe I'll send the bell-boy up here. Maybe he'd be willing to screw you….since no one else is. Not Calvin, not me, not anyone with a little self-respect." He stomped to the door and pulled it open. But before he stepped out, he turned back to her. "And just so you know, you could never,_ never_, be half the girl Emma is. You don't even fucking compare."

Riley began to say something, but Sean didn't let her. He slammed the door shut and walked to the elevator, leaving Riley Corey sitting in the hotel room, trying desperately not to cry.

The sunlight glared brightly down, and Paige squeezed Spinner's hand tightly as they walked down Main Street, soaking up the afternoon sun. They were spending a quiet afternoon together, just strolling around and talking. Paige knew she had done the right thing now- Spin needed her so much more than Jimmy did. She knew that without her, Jimmy would be ok, come out all fine. But Spin…he wouldn't be able to handle it. She didn't think she could live with herself if she started dating Jimmy, and left Spinner all by himself, when he needed her the most. She loved Spin, and Jimmy had just been…a thing. A naughty little thing she did, but nothing more.

"Thanks for waiting while I tried on those pants," Paige said happily. Spin shrugged.

"It was fun, _watching you try on every pair of pants in the store_," Spin said, and Paige laughed. She swatted him in the arm. "And yet you only bought _one_ pair."

"You know nothing of shopping, Spin," Paige said, shaking her head sadly. "It takes a certain method to find the perfect pair of jeans. Besides, you want me to looks hot at the school dance tonight, right? You can't just walk into a store and buy the first pair you try on!"

"You can't?"

Paige sighed dramatically. "_No_. Boys are shopping-challenged, I swear. Hey, isn't that your Dad's car?" she said, pointing to a Mercedes sitting on the curb. Spin noticed it and frowned. A cold, hard look came into his eyes, and Paige instantly regretted pointing it out. Gee, how stupid was she? Spin had some serious Daddy-issues.

"Yeah. Guess the son-of-a-bitch had a meeting here today," he said bitterly. Paige sighed and reached out and hugged him.

"Oh, Spin," she said, remembering all the things he had told her about his father. Spin hugged her back briefly, and then gently pushed her away. He glanced at the car, and walked up and peered through the window. Then he smiled slowly, an eerie, creepy smile. It made Paige nervous. "Wait here," he told her. Paige opened her mouth to protest, but Spin went jogging down the street.

He reappeared a few minutes later, holding a baseball bat. Paige frowned. "Hey-where did you get that?" Spin ignored her. "Um, honey, whatcha doing with that bat?"

"My Dad loves this car," Spin mumbled, tossing the bat up and down in his hands. "He'd be pissed. He'd be _so_ pissed." Then, out of nowhere, he slammed the bat into the windshield. Paige jumped and gasped. Then Spin just beating in mercilessly, muttering profanities the whole time and seeming completely out of it, like in a trance. Like the only important thing in the world was fucking up his father's car. Paige watched in shock for a moment. "Spin, stop it!" she finally screamed. People had stopped to watch him. "Spin, come on!"

Paige carefully grabbed Spin by the collar and tugged him away from the car. "Spinner, Jesus Christ! What are you doing? What are you thinking?"

Spin clenched his jaw. "Getting him back. Getting him back for all his fucked-up shit. Man, is he going to be pissed." He smiled happily. "He thinks he has me all under his control, but he doesn't. I hate him. I hate him so much."

Paige took a shaky breath. She hadn't realized how deep Spin's resentment of his father was, how much it hurt him. She stared at the destroyed Mercedes, covered in broken glass. She grabbed Spin's hand. "Come on," she said urgently, glancing around. "We have to go, before you get in trouble." Then she dragged him down the street, and Spin was smiling goofily the whole time, seeming _so proud_ of what he had done. He seemed almost giddy. Paige frowned, realizing one thing.

Spin had some real _serious_ Daddy issues.

"Dances are so lame," Sean said, shaking his head. "'Oh, aren't we cool? Standing around and bobbing our heads to music while we drink fruit-punch." He pulled the car to a stop at a red light, and turned to Emma, giving her a look. He had made it perfectly clear that going to this dance was punishment most cruel. He'd simply thrown on a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt (after tossing Riley's stupid tuxedo to the back of the closet), and had barely run a comb through his hair. He didn't want to give off the impression he was actually trying to look nice. It went against everything he stood for.

"Come on," Emma said, checking her reflection in the overhead mirror. She was wearing a soft white sweater and a jean skirt. "Their not that bad. Their kind of lame, but so are most things in this world. Plus, we'll be together, and that's what counts, right?" She reached for his hand and squeezed it. "We haven't been spending that much time together lately." He smiled at her, and she smiled at him. Then she glanced at the clock on the dashboard and frowned. "Do you think you could go a little faster? I promised Riley I'd meet her there-"

"No!" Sean burst out, and Emma looked at him in alarm. "I mean…I thought this was "us" time. Since when does us include Riley?"

"It doesn't. But she's my friend. Oh, come on, Sean," Emma said, smiling and poking him playfully in the rib. "You and Riley should get over your little differences. She's not that bad, once you really get to know her."

No, she wasn't that bad- she was a million times worse. Sean suddenly had unwanted flashbacks to the previous night. Kissing Riley, touching Riley… it was enough to make him want to swerve to the side of the road, stop, and throw up all over everything. To think he had messed around with Riley when he had Emma! Sweet, gorgeous,_ innocent_ Emma. She meant so much to him, and he couldn't' imagine not being with her. Not being with Emma was _not_ an option.

"I love you, Emma." It was kind of random, but he just felt the need to say it. Not for her, but for _him._

She smiled softly at him. "I love you, too. Sean…I was thinking…tonight…after the dance….well, I think I'm ready."

She didn't have to say, because he knew what she was talking about. He grinned. Finally. He didn't want to sound like a jerk, but _finally_. Now that he and Emma would be having sex, there really wouldn't be a need for him to mess around with other girls. He and Emma were talking their relationship to another level, and he couldn't explain how ecstatic he was. He just smiled and took her hand, squeezing it. Their hand-squeezes always meant to so much- they said everything they couldn't say out loud. Sean pressed down on the accelerator. He couldn't wait to get to the dance, and then have the dance be over, so he and Emma could go back to his place. Tonight was going to be special.

And Riley Corey was NOT going to ruin it.

"It's not much, but it's enough blow to sell to the customers. A couple dime bags, maybe," Brice was saying. "No, I don't have any crystal meth, not tonight.' He cradled the phone against his shoulder as he lit a cigarette. He laughed loudly. "_Please_. I'm not buying that shit again. You don't have him pay me, he's dead, hear that?" He gestured with his cigarette. "You don't have that fucking asshole pay me within the next week, I'll stick my boys on him and he'll be lucky if he can even fucking talk."

Ellie sat on the sofa in Brice's large, industrial apartment, watching as her boyfriend paced back and forth in front of the large window. She gnawed on fingernails, waiting patiently until he hung up. These things always took forever, and Ellie had learned to just be patient and quiet. Just keep her mouth shut. Brice finally hung up the phone and then turned to her, a smile on his face. Ellie stared at him for a moment. He was so skinny- all those drugs he did cut down his appetite quite a bit. His shaggy brown hair fell to his eyes and curled around his ears, and he had just a hint of stubble on his jaw. He was so tall, and she guessed a little sickly- looking in his own way, but he was still as sexy as anything. He smiled at her as he sat down at the kitchen table to roll a joint. "God, Jeff's such a mother fucker," he muttered.

Ellie curled her feet underneath her and smiled hesitantly at him. "I thought…you weren't going to do any pushing tonight…remember?"

Brice glanced at her and gave a loop-sided grin. "It's all just business, baby." He lit the joint and took a hit. "You know that."

"Oh. Yeah." Yeah, she did know that. She didn't like it all that much, but that's just how things were. That's what dealing was all about, really. Making sure the customers were happy and all that, but Ellie would never understand it. The people…there were people that were bombed out of their mind and all strung out, and they'd show up on Brice's doorstep at four in the morning, looking for anything they could snort or inject, anything to get them through the night. It was all a sad business, but Ellie had gotten used to it. Before, those people had scared her. All they wanted was more drugs and more drugs and they'd do absolutely _anything_ to get them. What a sad way to live, really. But now…it didn't bother her as much.

"So, how's school been going?" Brice asked. "You 'bout to kill yourself yet?"

Ellie shrugged. "It's stupid. All these people I used to be friends with are like, scared of me now. They all think I'm insane or something. I don't know. Their so lame and immature, anyway. It sucks."

Brice sighed. "Look, we've talked about this. All you gotta do is move out of your parent's house again, quit school and all that shit, and live with me again. It'll be like one big party, twenty-four/ seven." She smiled at him.

"I could. But…" she bit her lip. "I've got to make things right. My parents had minor heart attacks when I left. Look, I just have to sort some things out, and then we'll see. And my parents would go crazy if I left again. They wouldn't be able to handle it. And they'd die if they knew I was living with you."

Brice shrugged. "I don't see what it matters. We're going to get married, anyway," he muttered.

Ellie smiled. She loved when he talked like that- about them getting married. Oh, they weren't engaged or anything, not yet. But they both seemed to take for granted the fact that they were going to get hitched. Brice really loved her- he'd told her a million times how much he needed her, how she was the only thing keeping him sane. The thing was, Ellie wasn't sure if she loved him yet. He was usually really great to her and always a gentleman, and even though he was a drug-dealer, she still wanted to be with him because she knew he was genuinely a good person. But love…that was all tricky stuff for her. Sometimes Ellie thought that Brice cared about her more than she cared about him, and that made her feel guilty. She wasn't going to dump him, no way. Brice was the only thing that had kept these last couple of months good for her- without him, she'd be nothing. She'd _have_ nothing.

"So, since you apparently _love_ school, you're not going to like, get involved with really gay shit like cheerleading or anything, right?" he asked, looking worried. Ellie laughed and shook her head. She considered cheerleading right up there with the KKK and Nazism. But what would Brice know about high school? He'd dropped out after ninth grade.

"No! How can you even ask me that?" she said, pretending to be offended. "I'm not getting involved even a little bit. Like tonight. There was this stupid school dance and all, but…"

"A school dance?" Brice asked, perking up a bit. "Like, with a bunch of kids standing around and dancing?"

Ellie gave him an odd look. "That's usually what dances are, yes."

He smiled slowly. "Wow. Well, I think we should go."

"Are you shitting me?" When Ellie had heard about the dance, she had immediately just forgotten about it. School dance had never been her thing even before she'd run off, but now they were just unbearable. Besides, there was always that possibility of running into Sean….

"Nah. Let's go! There will plenty of desperate kids to sell too. I bet they'll all be looking to score, especially at something as lame as a school dance."

Ellie swallowed and sat up. "Wait- your thinking about selling to the kids at my school?"

Brice shrugged and stood up. "Sure. Drugs are always big with kids- you know, all the teenage angst and shit. Their just dying to rebel against Mommy and Daddy and get all lit up."

"But…but you can't," she stuttered. "I mean…no you can't just do that. Come on, Brice. I don't even want to go."

"El, look, I've got bills to pay and food to get, and I'm running a little low on money right now," Brice explained, pulling on his jacket. "Look, how about this? There probably won't be that many kids interested, anyway. No one will probably want any, and you and me can just go and try to have a good time."

Ellie stared at him doubtfully. Stupid Brice- he was always such a good liar, but she saw right through him. She slowly stood up and ran a hand through her long red hair. The last thing on Earth she wanted to do was attend a school dance, but, what the hell? So what if it was stupid and boring? At least she could tell her parents she'd went, make them think she was actually trying to get back into the flow of things at school. They'd hardly let her out of the house since she'd gone home, but she'd sneaked away to visit Brice at his new apartment. Her parents didn't know anything about kids. Her mother was to drunk to know where the hell she was most of the time, let alone where her daughter was. And her father…well, he'd just gotten back from war, but he wasn't home much. Ellie thought it was because he couldn't' stand being around her mother and all her drinking. "Fine. We'll go. But I'm warning you- you're going to hate it."

Brice shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Going somewhere?"

Craig turned around and saw his father standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Craig. Craig smiled hesitantly and shrugged. "Um…yeah. There's this dance at school…"

"Craig, I thought we agreed we'd watch some movies tonight together," Albert said slowly, his voice slow and chilly.

"Oh." Craig did remember- they'd decided to order takeout, play some cards, and watch B-rate action movies. But Craig hadn't actually thought his Dad was serious about it- he'd only come over this afternoon to help his Dad assemble his new grill, and he'd just thought he'd go straight to the dance after. "Well….this dance is kind of important."

Albert made a weird noise. "Is it because of that girlfriend of yours?"

"Dad…I thought you liked Manny."

"I do," Albert replied evenly, stepping into the room. "But I don't' like the fact that you seem to be devoting most of your life to that girl. She's a nice girl and everything, but she's not going to get you anywhere good, Craig. And I certainly don't like the fact that you're ditching your _father_ to attend a dance with her. There will be plenty of other dances, Craig."

Craig swallowed as he glanced into the mirror that hung over the dresser in his old room. "Well…..there will plenty of other nights to watch movies together, too."

"Are you talking back to me?"

Craig opened his mouth. He didn't know how to respond- if he said no, his Dad would get angry at him for lying. If he said yes, his Dad would get angry at him for being a smart-ass. It was one of those no-win situations that Craig seemed to get into quite frequently. "Dad…come on. I wasn't talking….I promised Manny I'd go."

"Craig…" It was a warning. Craig knew what his Dad wanted him to do- forget the dance and hang out with him, so they could pretend to "bond" again as father and son. Well, Craig was sorry and everything, but he was going to the dance. He was going to go and dance with is girlfriend and have a good time, because damn it, he deserved it. The days of his father pushing him around were over.

"Dad, I'm going to the dance."

He sort of expected it. But then again, do you ever really expect someone to beat the crap out of you? It was just like old times- his Dad would knock him around, calling him names and making him feel horrible. Craig had been used to it before, but now that it hadn't happened in so long, it made it so much worse. Craig couldn't even defend himself as his father began wailing on him- he just stood there and let his father hit him. He was taller than his Dad, but his Dad had just a temper that no one could really slow him down.

It ended with Craig lying on the floor. His Dad just muttered something and stalked out of the room, just like he always did. And just like always, tomorrow he'd probably apologize and promise it wouldn't happen again, but of course it did. It always happened again.

_He still the same_, Craig realized as he sat up and touched his swollen lip. He was trying not to cry. _He still is._. He'd been so sick of being his Dad's little punching bag, that's why he'd left like he did. He couldn't take it- he _wouldn't _take it.

He was stupid for coming back. Craig stood up shakily. But his Dad had this power over him, but it was something he couldn't explain. Craig grabbed his jacket and hurried out of the room, down the staircase, and out the front door before his Dad could even notice. He walked around in the dark for awhile, because he wasn't ready to go to the dance, not yet. It wasn't the fact this his Dad actually hit him that bothered Craig the most.

It was the fact that his Dad hadn't changed at all.

"This…dance…is…the….worst…thing…_ever,"_ Riley said slowly, trying to emphasize her point. She shook her head in disappointment. "Well, it's not like I had high hopes for this or anything, but it's just _so_ awful. The decorations looked like they were picked out by a ten-year-old." She opened her mysterious bottle and took a long swig.

Manny glanced at her. "Hey-what are you drinking?"

"Vodka," Riley said. "Want some?" She shook the bottle at Manny. Manny shook her head.

'No. You go ahead and drink yourself into oblivion," she said, glancing around the crowded gymnasium. "Have you seen Craig? I don't see him anywhere."

"Wait- isn't that him in the corner, dressed in that flamboyantly gay pink jump-suit and flirting with Marco?!"

"Shut up, Riley."

A few minutes later, Emma bounced up to them in all her perfectly perky glory, her natural blonde hair shimmering and her face flushed pink. "Hi, guys! Having fun?"

"Only severely retarded people would have fun at this," Riley said. Manny nudged her in the rib, and Emma smiled wearily.

"Come on, you two!" she said, shaking her head. "You two have been so depressing lately. The Gloom-Twins, that's what you are. Look, you need to stop moping around and have some fun. Manny, you have a great boyfriend that loves you. And Riley….well…..um, you know."

Riley gritted her teeth. Emma was her best friend, but God, did she despise her sometimes. It was hard to hate Emma- she just had that open, sincere quality that made her so easy to get along with. But why did she have to be so damn glorious and perfect? And why did Sean have to be so in love with her? Breaking them up was proving to be seemingly impossible, and Riley had decided that she needed a new approach. How do you break up Degrassi's super-couple? Step one- befriend the enemy. A.k.a- Emma.

"So, where's Sean tonight? Not coming?"

"No, he's just getting us something to drink. He's in such a good mood, though."

"Why?" Manny asked distractedly, still glancing around the room. Emma bit her lip and smiled shyly.

"Well, tonight….we're going to do it for the first time," she whispered, her face flushing.

"Emma, are you serious?" Manny squealed, looking animated for the first time that evening. "Wow. This is big." Riley just frowned. "I know," Emma said. "So big. I'm just a little…nervous. It's my first time."

_Gee, you're kidding,_ Riley thought sarcastically. So, virtuous little Emma was planning on losing her virginity. Well, Riley just couldn't let this happen. With her luck, Emma would be good at sex, just like she was good at everything else, and Sean and Emma would form this deep bond, blah, blah, blah- the point was, if Emma was putting out, Sean was most likely going to stay faithful. And Riley was permanently out of the picture.

"Well, you should be!" Riley said suddenly, looking at Emma. "Sex is…sex is big. You know, I hear that waiting-till-marriage thing works out great for some people. I'm thinking of trying it myself."

Emma and Manny stared at Riley for a second, and then Emma burst out laughing. "Riley, you're so funny!" She nudged Riley in the shoulder. "God, you have to love this girl. Well, I'm going to go find Sean. Talk to you two bitches later. Bye!" She gave a little wave and disappeared into the crowd. Riley waited until she was far enough away. "God, what a little slut!"

Manny snorted. "Yeah. Coming from the girl that gave three-guys head in one night, that doesn't mean much."

"Alright, that only happened once…or twice. Ok_, irrelevant_. The point is, Emma isn't ready to sleep with Sean. She just isn't. And as a friend and decent person, I think you should go and tell her that."

Manny smirked. "Yeah, right. If Emma wants to sleep with Sean, then more power to her. The sexual tension between the two is getting a little out-of-hand, anyway. They just need to screw and get it over with. Besides, sex is good for a relationship."

"Just because you and Craig screw like dogs in heat doesn't meant everyone else has to," Riley said bitterly, unscrewing the cap of her bottle again. She desperately needed some more alcohol. Manny just laughed and shook her head. "We do not! We have a healthy sex life, and both very much enjoy sex, but-"

"Ok, stop. Too much info. You know, if you're not careful, you might get pregnant," Riley said lightly with a shrug. She saw Manny frown.

"I think I see Craig," Manny said curtly. Riley looked around, but didn't see him. "I'll talk to you later. And easy on the vodka, alright?" Then she turned and hurried off. Gee, Riley must have said something to upset Manny, but she couldn't' remember what. Oh, well. Manny always was too emotional and sensitive for her own good. There was always so much drama with that girl- Riley supposed that's why they were friends- Riley absolutely thrived on drama. Sure, Manny was a little messed up, but weren't they all in some way? Riley sure knew she was. She leaned against the wall and narrowed her eyes when she saw Sean and Emma across the room, dancing slowly and staring longingly into each other's eyes.

Gross. It was just…_gross._

"This is so wrong," Ellie said, tugging at her black leather jacket as she and Brice stepped into the crowded gymnasium. "Alright…well, we've seen what a school dance looks like," she said lightly. Ellie grabbed his hand and began tugging him toward the door. "So we can just go now…"

Brice laughed. "Ellie, come on. Hey, maybe I'll even dance with you. I wore my dancing shoes."

Ellie snorted. "Please. Brice, this place is practically crawling with teachers…" she whispered, glancing around. She saw Mrs. Kwan standing in the corner, staring at Brice suspiciously. Across the room, Mr. Raditch was holding a cup of punch and awkwardly bobbing his head to the music as he watched the students.

"You're right," Brice said. "I guess I'll have to nix my idea of getting onstage and announcing to everyone that they can see me for any drugs." Ellie just frowned at his obvious sarcasm. "Relax. I'll keep it on the down-low, that's how I work."

Suddenly, Riley flounced up, smiling. "Brice! What are you doing here? Oh…you're dating Ellie." She glanced at Ellie, not looking very enthused. _"Anyway_…what a coincidence you showed up. I'm going to need your services tonight." She laid a hand on his arm, and Ellie gritted her teeth. She absolutely _loved it_ when girls flirted with her boyfriends and then acted like she wasn't even there. It always made her feel so good. Brice nodded. "Well, you know I'm your man."

"Always," Riley said flirtatiously. Ugh, Ellie couldn't stand to watch Riley throw herself at her boyfriend, so she simply turned and walked off. Whatever. Riley just rolled her eyes, grabbed Brice's arm, and pulled him into a corner. "Look, you got anything tonight?"

"I'm in rare form. What do you need?"

Riley bit her lip. "Actually, it's not for me. It's for my…friend. See, she really needs to loosen up and just like, loose all inhibitions, you know? Or something that'll make her…pass out."

Brice frowned at her. "Your friend asked you to hook her up with something to make her pass out?"

"Look, you don't know her, alright? She's kind of a freak," Riley said testily. "You know I have enough money, so do you have anything?" Brice shrugged and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small, clear bag with a single white pill in it. He handed it to her, and she took it. "What is it?"

Brice smiled knowingly. "It'll do the trick."

Riley peered at it. "It won't like, kill her right?"

Brice shook his head. "Nah. It's not that bad, really." Riley stared at him skeptically. "Really. Look, do you want it or not?" Riley nodded. "Alright, pay me, then."

Riley shook her head and smiled. "No. I'll pay you if it gets results."

Brice frowned. "That's not how I work."

Riley smirked smugly. "Well, that's how I work." With that, she turned and flounced off, the pill clutched in her hand. Brice may deal with fucked up druggies all the time, but he'd never dealt with Riley Corey before. She glanced around the room and spotted Emma. She hurried over. "Emma, hey! How's it going? What's up?" She knew she sounded like a spaz, but this just _had_ to work.

"I'm having fun," Emma said, sipping her punch. "Are you?"

"Uh…sure. Listen, I was wondering, do you need a ride home after the dance?"

"No. Remember, Sean and I are going back to his place…"

"Oh, right!" she said, pretending to remember. Like she could actually forget. "_Duh_. I bet you're nervous."

Emma shrugged. "Kind of. But Sean and I are ready….ok, I'm kind of chickening out right now, to be honest."

"I completely understand!" Riley said, patting her arm. "You know, you need to loosen up a little. Relax, and it will be so much better." She reached into her purse and pulled out her vodka. "It works like a charm."

Emma stared uneasily at the flask. "I don't want to be….drunk the first time I do it."

'You won't be! It will just give you more confidence, make you surer. What can it hurt?"

"Um…ok." Riley smiled and Emma held out her cup. Riley poured some in. "Ok, just a little. That's enough…Riley, I said that's enough!"

Riley smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Didn't hear you. I promise, this will do you good."

Emma smiled hesitantly and took a small sip. Riley just smiled.

Authors Note- Finally updated...what's going to happen to Emma? Keep reading to find out! Thanks for reviewing, and alot more is going to happen in this story. Some chapters are a bit slower than other, and I think this chapt is one of them. But no chapter is unimportant...so keep reading and giving any ideas! Check out my other stories. Thanks!


	6. Cry Me A River

"This dance is so fun!" Emma screamed, shaking her arms and wiggling her head back and forth. She giggled and jumped up and down in the air. "Riley! Dance with me! You're not dancing!" She reached out and grabbed Riley's hand, trying to get her to move. Riley glanced around nervously, wondering if anyone had noticed Emma's sudden spastic/crazy act. It was impossible not to notice- Emma was making such a spectacle of herself. Riley felt momentarily bad for what she had done, but like most of her guilty feelings, they didn't last long. She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to slap Emma in the face.

"No, you keep dancing. I'll just watch," she said, pulling her hand away from Emma's. Emma just smiled stupidly and went back to hopping around like a bunny. Riley scowled and glanced around again. She had slipped Emma the pill fifteen minutes ago, and it was working like a fucking charm, but Riley was beginning to get a little pissed off. She hated hyper people-all they did was talk and run around and get in your face. Still, Riley didn't regret what she'd done. After giving Emma a few glasses of vodka, she had slipped it in, and Emma hadn't even noticed. Riley spotted Sean heading across the room toward his girlfriend, a concerned frown on his face. Riley leapt into action. She reached out and grabbed Emma's arm, dragging her away. "Oh, my, God! Your hair…it's doing something weird!"

Emma's mouth fell open and she touched her head. "Really? Oh, my, God-what's it doing?"

"This really weird thing….look, I can't let anyone see you like this!" Riley said, pulling Emma out into the hallway. She shoved Emma into the nearby girl's bathroom, and slipped in beside her. Once they were inside, Emma leaned against the counter, looking ill. "Ugh. I don't feel well. What was in that vodka? Is my hair ok? What was in that vodka?"

_Only a potentially dangerous drug that I knew nothing about and gave it to you so you'd make an idiot out of yourself and so you wouldn't sleep with Sean because I'm in love with him,_ she thought. She shrugged. "I don't know. It was just regular, I swear. Anyway, I was sort of thinking-"

Suddenly, Emma clutched her stomach and darted into a stall. Riley frowned. "Emma, you ok in there? she asked, unable to hide her smile. "Gee, I think you better go home," she said, trying to be concerned. There was dead silence. Riley frowned and knocked on the stall door. "Hey, you're not like, passed out in there, are you?" No reply.

Riley panicked. _Oh, my, God_, she thought frantically. _What if she's dead in there?_ Riley was just about to go all Laura Croft and try to kick the door open when she heard a sad moan.

"I can't," Emma moaned miserably from the stall. Riley leaned against sink, sighing in relief. "Tonight was supposed to be…shit, I feel like crap."

"Listen, I'll take you home-" Riley began, but then stopped herself. It would look _awfu_l if Sean found out Riley had escorted Emma home- he'd know something was up for sure. She thought for a second. "Hold on. Don't move." She sprinted out of the bathroom and collided headfirst into someone. "Ow! Mother fucker! Why don't you fucking watch…oh, hi, Jay," she said sweetly, beaming up at him. "Guess what!"

"What?"

"I have a surprise for you!"

Jay smirked, looking interested. "Oh, yeah? What is it?"

"Yeah. It's a drunk girl sitting on a toilette in a bathroom stall."

Jay looked confused. "Wait- what?"

Riley smiled. "You get to do me a favor.

Jay rolled his eyes. "That's your surprise? That was disappointing."

Riley waved a hand. "Listen, you need to take Emma home. She's really fucked up, and well…I trust you." She put a flirtatious hand on his shoulder. Jay glanced at her hand. "Why doesn't Sean- _her boyfriend_- take her home?" he retorted.

"Well…they got in this awful fight and stuff….just take her home! You have a fucking car, so just drive her the whole five minutes it takes to get to her house, and stop being such a baby."

"Hey, hey- I don't let just anyone into my car. What's in it for me?"

God, Jay was such an asshole. He may be hot, but he was an asshole, and not even good looks and a cocky smile could hide that. Luckily, assholes were Riley's specialty. "I'll give you a blow job."

"Ok, so where is she? My cars parked out front."

"But only if she gets home safely," Riley pointed out, shaking her head.

"I'm going to a party at the ravine. Emma's house is a little out of the way."

"Fine. Take her with you or whatever, but just get her out of here, ok?" Riley snapped. Jay stared at her. She sighed angrily and reached into her purse. "Fine. Here's a fifty." Jay took it but kept staring. "Jesus Christ. Fine. And a pack of cigarettes, you fucking asshole." She tossed them at him. He nodded in satisfaction. "Alright. Have your little friend outside in three minutes." He turned and walked off. Riley hurried back into the bathroom. "Emma, guess what? I found you a ride home!" She said, panting slightly. "Don't thank me- I was happy to do it."

The stall door burst open and Emma bounced out. "No! I'm fine now, seriously. Now I feel like dancing and getting dirty!"

Emma began grinding with Riley. After a moment, Riley shoved her off. "Emma, please. _Focus_. Are you ready to go?

"Not even close! I don't want to go home!" Emma giggled, grabbed Riley's hand, and began to lead her out of the bathroom. Riley spun Emma back around.

"No, wait! You didn't hear me right. I got you a ride to the big _after party_ at the ravine. Everyone's going, because this dance sucks ass. So let's go."

Emma looked confused. "After party? I never heard about an after- party. Oh, well, Sean will take me!"

"He left already," Riley lied quickly. "He told me to tell you he'd meet you there, and he was taking this really pretty brunette with him…." Emma's mouth fell open. "I'm sure it was nothing, but I got us a ride, so don't worry about it! We can go over there and yell at Sean together. _So let's go_!" Riley said, tugging on Emma's hand.

Emma flipped her hair. "Well, who cares about Sean? Ok, let's go!" The two girls left the bathroom and Riley ushered Emma out into the school's large parking lot. As promised, Jay was sitting in his car at the curb. Riley opened the door for Emma, and after a second of hesitation, Emma got in. Jay scowled. "I'm sorry; I thought I said three minutes. Or did I say a _half-and-hour_? I honestly can't remember."

"Shut up," Riley snapped, opening the back-seat door. Then, she closed it quickly. "Oops! I forgot. I told Liberty I'd help with clean-up! Sorry. Have fun without me!" She stepped away from the curb and gave a little wave.

"Wait, Riley-" Emma said desperately out the window, but Riley just blew her a kiss. "Ok, buh-bye!" Then Jay sped off. Riley watched the car disappear out of sight, silently congratulating herself on a job well-done. Duping Emma was so pathetically easy, Riley could list it as a hobby on her job resumes. She turned and walked back into the school, glad she finally had Sean all to herself.

"Craig!" Manny called, and Craig turned around. He'd just gotten to the dance ten minutes ago, after spending a half-hour deciding whether or not to even go. But he knew he'd made the right decision, since Manny was hurrying over to him, wearing this stringy, black, thingy that made her look so perfect. Craig smiled. "Craig, you're so late! I've had to dance with oodles of hot boys to keep myself entertained, you know," she teased, wrapping her arms around his waist. Craig smirked.

"That's cool, because I was just fooling around with these two hot chicks I found on a street corner. Hope you don't mind."

"Craig, you're so stupid- "she began, but then she stopped suddenly, stepping back to get a good look at his face. "Oh, God- Craig, what happened?"

Craig stepped away and smiled sheepishly. "I ran into this….lamp."

"Did this lamp get back up and beat the shit out of you?" Manny asked, shaking her head. "Please. A lamp?"

Craig agreed it was lame, but he just shrugged. "It was a really _big_ lamp."

"Craig, if something was going on, you'd tell me, right?

_No._

"Uh, sure."

"Then tell me what happened," Manny pleaded. "Was it a fight?"

"No, Manny," Craig said, sighing. "Can we just drop this? It's kind of ruining the mood of the evening."

"It was your Dad, wasn't it?"

Craig whirled around. Why did she always do this? _Demand_ to know his business, stick her nose in everything. It was beginning to really piss him off. "You don't know anything about my Dad. I said, _drop it_, Manny."

"Why won't you talk to me? You never want to talk to me," Manny said quietly, looking like she was about to cry. "All you want to do is have sex and play your guitar and play PlayStation with Spin and Jimmy. We never talk about our feelings."

"Ok, we don't play PlayStation, we play X-Box. There's a huge difference. And we do talk about our feelings!" Craig cried. "We always talk about feelings. All you do is talk about your fucking feelings. Maybe I don't care anymore. Maybe, you should go tell someone else all your "feelings"!"

Manny stared at him in horror. He'd never, _never_, talked to her that way before. He'd never yelled at her, cussed at her, treated her like _this_. And in front of the whole school! Ok, so no one was really paying any attention to them, but still! "Did you just…did you just break up with me?" she choked out, praying to God he hadn't. Craig couldn't leave her, not now. Not when she could feel herself drowning and falling apart. Didn't he know anything? Didn't he see how much she needed him? But then Manny realized that he really didn't know, because she'd never clued him in. She'd hid it from him, and now he was about to leave her.

"I….I don't know. Yeah, I mean, no. I mean….maybe we need time apart?"

Manny felt the floor spinning under her feet. The walls were shifting. She felt like she couldn't even breathe. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. Craig had _not_ just dumped her. Manny felt tears coming up in the back of her throat, and she shoved past Craig and stumbled off the dance floor. She could hear Craig calling after her, but she kept going. People gave her weird looks, but she ignored them as she hurried out of the gymnasium. She walked down the dark, deserted hallway, the beats of the music pounding faintly against the walls. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she hoped she'd find a black hole where she could just shrivel up and die in.

"Hey, wait," she heard someone say and she turned around. A guy was leaning against the wall next to the water fountain, holding a cigarette, and Manny assumed he must be a senior. A senior who'd been held back a few times, considering the sexy stubble on his chin and that worldly look in his eyes. "You look upset, girlie."

She hated when people referred to her as "girlie". She sniffed and wiped away a tear. "You can't smoke in here. School rule. Raditch will kill you."

The guy smirked. "Then I better put this out," he said. But instead, he just took another hit and stared at her.

"Do you go here?" Manny asked. He smirked.

"Nah. Are you crying?"

"Yeah," Manny said, staring at the floor. "Bad night."

"I've had those. You know, I think I might have something that can make you feel better," he said, pushing himself off the wall. He reached into his pocket and produced a small, clear baggie. "It'll take away all your problems, just like that. Wipe away all of those tears, I swear."

"Ecstasy," Manny said slowly, wrapping her arms around her waist and staring at the pill. The guy smirked and nodded. "Well, you know your shit, don't you? You want it or not? I'll cut you a nice deal, since you look like your having a rough night."

"I'm not interested," Manny said, but she didn't move. "Besides, taking Ecstasy in hardly worth it at a school dance, don't you think?"

"Feisty. Well, I think you _are_ interested. You keep eyeing it like you think it's gonna jump up and attack you."

Manny took a deep breath_. Oh, fuck it_, she thought, reaching into her purse and pulling out her wallet. She couldn't believe she was spending two weeks of baby-sitting money on a dinky little pill that probably wouldn't get her high at all. She took out a few bills and handed them to him. "That's all I have." He accepted the money and counted it, then nodded. He handed it to her, and Manny slipped it back into her purse. "Have fun."

Manny nodded. "Well, you want to have fun with me?" she asked him in bored tone, just for the hell of it. She really wasn't interested in him, but she couldn't face going back into the dance alone, and having to watch Craig have a great time without her. The guy smiled and shook his head.

"Nope. You're cute and all, but I got a girlfriend. And I'm a gentleman, so I'm going to have to pass." He finished off his cigarette and tossed it into the water fountain. He then nodded at her, gave a little bow, and turned and walked off, whistling to himself. Manny watched him go, feeling like a fugly ogre that no one wanted. Rejected twice in one night wasn't Manny's style at all. She sighed and leaned against the wall, feeling like shit. Craig had been an insensitive asshole, but he had been _her_ insensitive asshole. No pill or drug could take away the pain and hurt of being dumped by the only person who had ever cared about her

But it could take her mind off it for awhile.

Riley fluffed her hair with her fingertips and tossed her head, hoping it gave her golden locks more volume. She could see Sean standing with Craig, still desperately trying to locate Emma_. What a moron_, she thought, watching him crane his neck as he surveyed the room. Emma was long gone by now. Riley smiled and began walking toward him, when suddenly someone stepped directly in her path. "Hey, do you mind? I'm trying to….Oh, hello, Mr. Raditch."

"Riley," Raditch said suspiciously, giving her the once over. Like he expected her to have riffles attached to her dress. "Everything's going well, I hope."

What did he mean by that? Riley honestly never had a clue what he was talking about. "It's a lovely evening, isn't it Mr. Raditch?"

"I hope your behaving yourself, Riley," Raditch said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at her. "We don't want any incidents like we had last year, now do we?"

Riley thought back to the previous year, when she had seen her current squeeze, Bryan, making out with the foreign exchange student, Olga. Riley had gotten so pissed that she had pulled the fire alarm, and the whole dance had to be evacuated until the fire trucks came. Riley had felt like she was totally justified, though. Olga had had a mustache and smelled like old onions, for god's sake! Mr. Raditch had made her do ten hours of community service and write an apology to the students for disrupting the dance, which she'd had to read on the morning announcements. "Oh, I don't really recall what happened last year. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Riley," Mr. Raditch said, shaking his head. "Don't make me call your parents."

"For what?!" she demanded. "Having a conversation with my school principal?"

"No, for being a smartass."

"This is verbal abuse. I hope you're aware of that."

"Riley, I just had a great idea," Mr. Raditch said, eyeing her. "We desperately need someone else to work the refreshments. Why don't you take a seat over there and help out your school?"

"Mr. Raditch!"

"There's a fold out chair right over there. Consider this an extended punishment for the incident you can't seem to remember from last year," he said smugly, patting her on the arm. Then he gave her a little push toward the snack table, and watched as she stomped over. She threw herself into the hard chair next to Ashley Kerwin, who was pouring fruit punch into a cup. "Hi. Welcome to the land of boring nothingness," she said flatly. Riley slumped down in her seat. "Give me that!" She reached over, snatched the cup from Ashley, and took a long sip. "Ugh. This punch tastes like shit."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Ash asked, rolling her eyes. "I just signed up to help with the snacks, not listen to people's complaints."

"You actually _signed up _to do this? What's wrong with you?' Riley asked, shaking her head. Ash made a face and went back to pouring punch. They just sat in silence for a few minutes.

"This is retarded," Riley finally said, sitting up. Just then, she spotted Sean and Craig walking toward them. She grabbed the ladle from Ashley, who said something nasty, and poured a glass of punch. She smiled sweetly at Sean. "Here you go! Drink up!"

Sean rolled his eyes and stared at the punch. "You didn't like, put something in this, did you?" Craig snickered, and Ash giggled. Riley frowned and sighed.

"Sean, give me some credit here," she said, although she wished she had thought of that idea earlier. It had worked with Emma.Sean smirked and took a small sip. Craig stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously and glanced at Ashley, who was pretending to be busy smashing a cookie into pieces on the table. He cleared his throat. "Hey, Ash, want to dance…maybe?"

"No. I'd rather set myself on fire, but thanks."

Riley chuckled. Craig looked at the floor, his face red with embarrassment. "Ouch. You know there's something wrong when girls start threatening to find painful ways of mutating themselves as opposed to actually dancing with you!" Riley said with a smirk. Craig just mumbled something and hurried off. Sean set down his cup and frowned at her.

"Real charming, Riley."

"He's a big boy, Sean. But you can run after him and hold him while he cries, if you want. Indulge in all your home-erotic fantasies."

"Look, have you seen Emma?"

"Nope. Sorry," she said, a little too quickly. Sean narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Riley, where is Emma?"

"Do I look like your girlfriend's fucking baby-sitter?" Riley snapped. "How the hell should I know? My guess- she's avoiding _you_."

Sean stared at her for long moment, and then he shook his head, muttered something that was probably quite rude, and walked off angrily. Riley watched him go, thinking she'd feel some satisfaction in that fact that Sean had no idea where Emma was, but she didn't. Sean seemed so _worried_ about Emma, and it bothered Riley. Making people miserable didn't make her feel as good as it used to.

"Hey, why are you always so mean to Sean?" Ashley asked. Riley shrugged.

"You wouldn't understand. Why are you such a heartless bitch to Craig?" she retorted. "I mean, he's pretty nice. And hot, in that skinny, musician kind of way."

"Don't you remember last year? The whole cheating-on-me-with-Manny thing?" Ash asked.

"Oh, right. And you slapped him in front of the whole school at the Christmas show?" Riley said, laughing. "That was priceless. The look on his face….But come on- he cheated on you? So what? Don't you like, ever hook up from time to time?"

"_No_," Ash said, shaking her head. "He cheated on me. And he's dating Manny now. And I am-_was_- dating Damon…Aren't you like Manny's best friend? You should know this."

"_So_?"

"So, he's_ dating_ someone. And he cheated on me. Didn't I just say this? Why would I hook up with him?"

"Wait," Riley said slowly. "So, you're telling me that when you break up with someone, and they start dating someone else, you don't still get together?" She looked baffled. "Aren't ex-boyfriends just kind of like, fair game? I screw my ex-boyfriend's all the time. And so what it a guy cheats on you? Cheating is just part of relationships."

Ash snorted. "Wow. No offense, but you are a slut. And you have a seriously warped idea of relationships."

"Well, when you see your Dad going around and sleeping with random woman all the time, that's just what you learn," Riley said a bit bitterly, thinking of her father's many affairs- usually with friend's or client's wives. "Anyway, let's get this party started," she said, hoping to change the subject. She pulled out her vodka bottle, and, when no one was looking, dumped it into the punch. Ash watched in amazement. "Hey! You can't do that!"

"Just did. And it's just a little vodka. Never killed anyone."

"Alcoholism kills plenty of people each year. It's a disease-"

"Please. Spare me. Look, if we're stuck together, we might as well try to make it more enjoyable. So shut up and stop talking."

Sean jogged down the front steps of the school, ruffling through his pockets for his car keys. He finally found them and pulled them out, twirling them around his finger. He was beyond pissed- where the fuck was Emma? He had searched the dance, walked around the whole damn school, asked everyone, and no one had seen her in the last half hour. Wasn't tonight supposed to be _their_ night? Maybe Emma chickened out and walked home or something. It was a little out of character for Emma to just ditch him, but things had been weird between them lately, so who knew?

Sean still suspected Riley was up to something- she always was. He didn't think she had lured Emma into a closet and had tied her up or anything, but Sean could just kind of…_sense_ when Riley was up to no good. Maybe Riley had blabbed about the country club and their "almost" hook-up, and Emma was pissed at him. Sean sighed. Fuck. Why was Riley continually trying to fuck him over? Didn't she have anything better to do with her time? Sean decided to drop by Emma's, and if she wasn't there, he was just going to go home and sleep.

Sean walked toward his car, and he passed the bus stop that was right across from the school. He stopped when he realized Ellie Nash, of all the people on Earth, was sitting in it, hunched up in one corner. She looked up at him, and he realized she had been crying. Her mascara was running all over her face and her nose was red and she looked _awful_.

"Hey, Ellie." No reply. "Ok, I know you don't want to talk to me…"

"Gee, what was your first clue?" Ellie snapped, shaking her head. She sniffed and ran her hand over her face. "Just go away, Cameron."

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, ignoring her last comment. "Shouldn't you be in the dance?"

"Dances are for assholes like you," she said tiredly, leaning her head against the glass and closing her eyes. "My boyfriend dragged me here."

"You…you have a boyfriend?" He didn't mean to sound so surprised. Ellie opened one eye and glared at him.

"Yeah. Is that so hard to believe?" she asked, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her scrawny arms around them. "He's great and I love him and we're going to get married."

"Oh." Sean looked at her some more. "You're drunk, aren't you?"

"Fuck you, Cameron."

"No, you are!" He knew Ellie when she was drunk- they'd spent many nights together, getting drunk and passing out all the time. That was what Sean used to do, before he got back together with Emma. His days revolved around getting drunk and stealing shit and getting with as many girls as he could. Basically just fucking everything up and doing nothing of any importance. And Ellie had been a part of that. He didn't really blame Ellie for his downfall, but she sure had contributed. They wouldn't sleep or eat or do anything. They'd just drink and smoke. Then they'd stop for awhile, but they never stayed sober for long. And apparently, Ellie was still having trouble with that.

There was a long awkward silence, and for a second, Sean thought Ellie might have passed out. He decided to drop the drinking subject. "So…" He scuffled his boots against the pavement. "Things…are going good?"

"No."

Hmm. Sean wasn't sure what_ that_ meant. There had been a time when talking to Ellie was easy- she was so open and, if she liked you, she was actually a really warm person. But now…she was just…._cold_. Sean wondered what had changed, what had gone wrong. "How are things with the…you know." Damn! He hadn't meant to say it, but it had just poured out. Ellie opened one eye again. Silently, she pulled up one sleeve of her black shirt, revealing an arm littered with nasty gashes and scabs. Some of them looked fresh, too, although Sean couldn't tell. She didn't have to say anything more- her arm said everything. She was still cutting.

Sean cleared his throat. "Still?"

"I told you, things aren't going so great," she muttered, unable to look him in the eyes. "But now that I'm back and with Brice and everything, I'm going to get things together."

"Ellie, you don't need to cut. There are other ways-"

"What do you know?" she snapped, finally opening her eyes and sitting up. "You have bad habits, Sean. More than I do. People say, oh, you don't have to cut. You just have to find other ways to deal with life. And then I drink a little to just relax, and people get even more in my face! What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm always going to be a cutter, ok? It's a part of me, and it's not going away. I said, I'm dealing with it. So back off."

"I'm sorry," Sean said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He really was. "I'm just trying to help."

"How can you say that? After what you did to me?"

"I'm sorry, ok?" he replied, shaking his head. What else could he say? He couldn't turn back fucking time, although he wished he could. He would have done a lot of things differently.

"It's just a bit late for that, don't you think?"

"You never gave me a chance to apologize!" Sean yelled, throwing up his hands in frustration. "You just left! You left, and you didn't tell anyone where you were going, and-"

"I don't need this," she mumbled, standing up and snatching up her signature black leather bag. She constantly carried it around with her. Sean caught a peek of some sort of bottle nestled in it, and he figured it was probably whatever she'd been drinking. "I really don't need this. I'm going back inside." She brushed past him, staring at the ground. Sean whirled around.

"You know what, Ellie? I made some mistakes, but so did you!" he called after her. "So don't act like I'm the only one that fucked up here!"

Ellie didn't bother to reply. She just kept walking.

Emma couldn't even think straight. She felt a little dizzy and a little nauseous, but besides that, she was feeling _good. Really_, _really,_ good. She was calm and relaxed and just happy to be alive. She looked out the window of Jay's car and saw the starts twinkling brightly in the sky, and she laughed. It was all so beautiful and perfect. Emma had never appreciated life, and the world, as much as she did just then. She sat back in her seat and sighed happily.

A few seconds later Jay stopped the car, and Emma smiled at him. "Hi, Jay!"

"Uh, hi. Are you ok?"

Emma smiled and reached out and touched a strand of his soft, brown hair. "Never better. Why do you ask?"

Jay just shrugged and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Never mind, forget it."

"Where are we?" Emma demanded, glancing out the window.

"The ravine," Jay said, opening the door and climbing out.

Emma clapped her hand together. "Yeah! So fun." She fumbled to open her door, and when she finally did, she jumped out and immediately tripped. "Oops!"

Jay leaned against the car and stared at her in the light of the bonfire. "You know what? Maybe I should just take you home."

Emma shook her head. "No way! This is a party! And I feel like dancing." She began dancing to the loud rock music that was playing on a stereo near the fire. "Come on. Let's go over to the fire." Emma danced over to the group of people scattered around the bonfire, and Jay hesitantly followed behind. "Wow! I love this song! Jay, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's ok," he said, scratching the back of his head. He watched as Emma climbed onto one of the picnic tables and began dancing. Everyone turned and watched her, and people began cheering for her. Jay grabbed a beer and sat down on another bench, watching as Emma entertained the crowd. "Hey, is that Emma Nelson? The girl that like, is always trying to save trees and birds or whatever?" a girl sitting nearby asked.

Jay took a sip from the can and nodded. "Yep. That's her."

"I didn't know she was such a partier!"

Jay frowned. "Yeah. Me neither." He really wasn't sure what was up with Emma, but he had to hand it to her- she could dance. And she looked really great up there, with the firelight highlighting her golden hair. Jay hadn't really noticed Emma before- she was just kind of there. Sean's girlfriend, that was it. Occasionally, she'd annoy the hell out of him and yell at him for littering or some equally stupid shit like that, but they'd never really become friends. They just made fun of each other most of the time. Jay had kind of always taken Emma for the conservative Say-No-To-Parties/Drugs kind of girl, but maybe he'd been completely off base. Maybe she was really some crazy wild child that was yet to be discovered.

When the song finished, Emma hopped off the table and ran over to him. "Jay, there you are. Did you see me dancing? I'm so thirsty. Can I have sip?" Jay hesitantly handed her his beer, and she chugged. Jay watched in disbelief as she drowned the whole thing. She handed him back the can, empty. Jay tossed it aside. "You call that a sip?" he asked, shaking his head.

Emma smiled and grabbed his hand. "You're so incredibly cute. Take off that stupid hat." She yanked his baseball cap off his head and waved it in the air. "Much better."

'Hey. That's my favorite hat."

"You have hat hair," she teased, plopping down on his lap and ruffling his hair. "There. All better."

Jay shifted uncomfortably. Normally, he'd be all for girls cuddling up in his lap and flirting intensely with him, but this was Emma. She wasn't just one of the slutty girls that hung around the ravin­e, the really easy ones who drank too much and fell all over themselves and went down on guys they didn't even know. Emma had class, and Jay respected that. But here she was, wiggling all over his lap and whispering in his ear, and what the fuck was Jay supposed to do? Shove her off him? "I'm gonna kiss you!" Emma suddenly said, smiling at him. Jay smirked.

"And what would Cameron say about that?"

Emma shrugged and bit her lip. "I dunno. I bet he wouldn't even mind, since your like, his _best friend."_

Yeah, right. Like Sean wouldn't beat the fuck out of Jay if he knew he was messing with his girlfriend. But then again, Jay knew all about Sean's cheating habits, and Emma obviously had no idea. Poor girl. She really didn't get it. Jay felt sort of guilty, never saying anything. And if Sean was always cheating on Emma, what would it be so horribly wrong if Emma just kissed Jay? She obviously wanted to. "Nah. I bet you don't even know how to kiss."

"I do, too!" Emma said. She leaned in and kissed him slowly. Just as Jay was getting into it, she leaned back. "See?"

"Well, I guess you proved me wrong, then," Jay said, smiling slowly. Emma tossed her hair over her shoulder and leaned in to give Jay another long, slow kiss….

"And now we'll be announcing the Queen and King of the Autumn Bash," Mrs. Kwan announced into the microphone, and the crowd cheered. "As you may know, the Queen and King will be riding in the Halloween Parade at the end of the month, and will be working together on Degrassi's annual Halloween carnival. So without further ado, here's Mr. Raditch…"

"Ok, we are so getting this," Paige whispered to Spin, squeezing his hand. "At least we better be. I swear to God, if that fat-cow Heather Sinclair wins, I will personally run onstage and rip that crown of her little head."

Spin smirked. "Ok, honey-bee, calm down. Of course you're getting it. Everyone loves you." Which wasn't exactly true, but Spin knew it would make his girlfriend feel better. You either loved or hated Paige. You either liked her sassy out-spoken attitude, her tell-it-like-it- is approach….or you wanted to punch her in the face.

"I know," Paige said with a wistful sigh. She looked down at her new pair of faded low-rise jeans and her shimmering pink silk halter top. "It's a good thing I wore my new outfit. Do you think their will be any reporters?" she asked, glancing around the room.

"The King and Queen of Degrassi's Autumn Bash isn't exactly front-page news," Spin pointed out.

"Spin, don't speak of such things. Of course it is."

"Ok…whatever. But even if you don't win, sweetie, you'll still be a queen to me-"Spin began romantically, but Paige jabbed him in the ribs as she stared at the stage.

"Ssh! Their announcing it. Oh, my, God- is there anything in my teeth?"

"No."

"Good."

"And the King and Queen are…" Mr. Raditch said, making a huge production of carefully unfolding the envelope. He smiled. "Our own head cheerleader, Paige Michealchuck…"

"Yes!" Paige whispered, smirking.

"And Degrassi's most valuable player and resident basketball star, Jimmy Brooks!"

"What!?" Paige whispered, horrified. She glanced across the room where Jimmy and Hazel were standing. Hazel was kissing and jumping all over Jimmy, but he was just smiling softly, staring at Paige. She swallowed hard. He probably figured this was some immaculate sign from God that they should be together. Hell…maybe it was.

"Alright!" Spin said. "You two deserve it." Paige just stood frozen in spot. "Go on. Get your crown, Queen Paige." He nudged her toward the stage, but Paige shook her head.

"I changed my mind. I don't want it."

"Paige? Are you out there?" Mr. Raditch asked, peering into the crowd. Jimmy was climbing onstage. "Come on up!"

"Oh, shit," Paige mumbled, trooping over to the stage and plastering a big grin on her face. A nerdy freshman placed a shining gold crown on her equally shining gold locks, and told her she looked hot tonight. Paige stepped next to Jimmy, listening as people cheered for her.

"See," Jimmy whispered. "Everyone at Degrassi thinks we make a good couple."

"Yeah, well…I demand a recount," she hissed. "Just because we happen to be standing up here together doesn't mean anything. I told you, I'm with Spin. You're the one that said you didn't want to be friends anymore."

Jimmy just stared sadly at her, while Paige forced herself to smile and stared into the crowd. She could see Spin and Hazel standing next to each other, clapping and yelling louder than anyone else. They really had no idea-completely clueless.

"I love you, Paige," Jimmy whispered.

Paige swallowed hard and told herself to just keep smiling. And to not say "I love you," back.

Riley flipped over her cell phone and held it up to her ear. "Yeah, Bernard? Get over here, right now. I know it's your night off. Do you think I care? It's an emergency, Bernard….Jesus Christ, Bernard! My father pays you to chauffer me around. Get your fat ass at the school, right now, ok? I'll be waiting outside." With that, she flipped the phone closed.

Riley continued to pace outside the school for a few minutes, biting her nails nervously. Her conscience was beginning to get to her, and she fucking hated it. She had called Emma's house a few minutes ago- her Mom had said Emma wasn't home yet. Riley couldn't believe she had entrusted Emma in the incompetent hands of _Jay Hogart_. What had she been thinking? For all Riley knew, they could be lying in some ditch somewhere or halfway to Florida by now!

Finally, Bernard pulled up in their limo, glaring angrily at her. Riley jumped in the backseat. "Oh, stop giving me that look. Just take me to the ravine near the lake." Bernard just grunted and pulled away from the school. "So, how's the wife and kids, Bern?" Riley asked from the back seat. Bernard just muttered something and rolled up the tinted window between them. Riley just frowned. Bernard was such an asshole.

Finally, they reached the ravine. "Stop here. Ok, just wait right here. I'll be back in a few." She got out of the limo and walked toward the bonfire in the distance. She didn't want anyone to see the limo and the fat little guy in the gay chauffer-hat. These weren't exactly the kids who appreciated good taste and wealth. They hung outat a ravine, for God's sake. That said enough, right there. But Riley wasn't planning on sticking around and making any new friends or anything- she just wanted to check on Emma, soothe her guilty conscience, and get the fuck out of there.

"Hey, you," Riley said, patting some guy on the back. "You seen Jay or Emma?"

"What are you going to give me if I tell you?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows and smirking at her.

"Nothing. But if you don't tell me, I'll rip off your balls and shove them down your throat."

"Ok, take it easy. Last I saw them they went over to the van over there." He pointed in some general direction and shrugged. Riley sighed and stalked off. There was a small little area closer to the woods and far enough away from the bonfire that no one would bother you and Riley spotted a big, rusty van. She went over, and, just as she was about to pull open the door, it opened and Emma stumbled out, her hair a mess. Riley sighed. "Oh, my, God. Emma, I am so glad I found you-"

"I…I don't feel very well," she said, and she turned and staggered into the woods. Riley peered into the van and saw Jay, without his shirt on, putting on his belt. "What the fuck did you do?"

Jay shook his head. "Nothing…nothing happened," he mumbled, gathering up his shirt and jacket. Riley frowned.

"You asshole! I told you to fucking take her home, not take advantage of her in some crappy van!" she yelled.

"Hey, you told me to just take her with me, alright?" Jay said defensively, pulling on his shirt. "I offered to take her home. And she came onto _me_."

Riley scowled. "I should beat the shit out of you, you fucking-"But Jay jumped out of the van and started walking off. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" she screamed after him.

"Home!" he called back. "I can't deal with this."

Riley watched Jay go, her blood boiling. Then she remembered Emma, and turned and hurried into the dark woods. She didn't have to go too far before she found Emma, her head in her hands as she sat hunched over on a log. She was crying. "Emma....it's ok." She couldn't think of anything better to say.

"No, it's not!" Emma mumbled, sniffling. She looked up at Riley, tears shimmering in her eyes. "My first time was supposed to be with Sean…not…not…" she trailed off and started crying. Riley felt completely useless, just standing there. This was awkward, and it might require Riley to actually act like _a friend_. She hesitantly sat down and wrapped her arms around Emma.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," Emma said. "I wasn't even thinking. I would have never…"

Riley swallowed hard. She was right- Emma _never_ would have hooked up with her boyfriend's best friend in the back of a van. Unless, of course, she was on some drug or impairing influence. Like, say, a little white pill and some vodka….Riley bit her lip. She was a _monster_. She was surely going to go to hell for this one. But Riley had never intended for this to happen- not at all. She couldn't have even fathomed this. She held Emma for a little while, and then led her to the waiting limo.

But then, she realized something…this was exactly the kind of thing that would break Emma and Sean up, and send a vulnerable Sean running into Riley's arm. Wasn't this what Riley had wanted? To just destroy Sean and Emma's perfect little relationship? And it really wasn't her fault- she hadn't forced Emma into the van, she hadn't _made_ Emma do anything. Secretly, Emma must have wanted Jay, or else she would have never gotten together with him, high or not. And if Sean ever found out, he would dump Emma in a second….

So really, her conscience should be clean. And she was going to get what she wanted. Sean Cameron.

**_Authors Note_**- I finally updated! I've been working on this for awhile, so hopefully the next update will be soon. I decided to take the Jay/Emma road because I like them as a couple and because of recent developments on the show...So please read and review, tell me what you think! And thanks for everyone who has reviewed so far...really appreciate it. Thanks!


	7. Addicted

Paige stared into the mirror over her dresser, analyzing her appearance critically. It was the Monday after Paige had been crowned Queen, and she knew that she was going to be the center of _everyone's_ attention, which was exactly where she belonged. She had to look _unbelievably_ gorgeous. She had woken up at five that morning to sculpt her locks into perfect golden curls, and had spent the last half hour trying to pick an appropriate outfit. She wanted something classy, something that screamed "I am your Queen! Bow down to me!" in big, bold letters. Unlike most of the sluts at Degrassi, Paige had never pranced around in skimpy, skanky outfits. She had always carried herself with grace and poise, just like her mother had taught her. A major aspect of being Paige Michealchuck was making sure that you always looked one step ahead of everyone else.

She stared at her reflection. She looked beautiful in an adorable, flared jean skirt, and an off-the-shoulder black top that showed off the tan she still had from summer. Her hair glistened, and she'd spent forever slaving over her makeup, making sure she used all the perfect colors to accent her eyes and skin tone. She looked flawless.

But she couldn't help but feel incredibly fake.

She was putting on an act. Hey, that was nothing new. She'd been doing it ever since the beginning of fifth grade, when she'd come home from the fat camp her mother had sent her to. Yes, Paige had been a fat ass. She'd never admit it to anyone who hadn't known her back then, but she'd been fat. She still threatened Ashley on a daily basis not to talk about it. And her mother never let her forget. So when summer rolled around after fourth grade, instead of going to Girl Scout camp with Ashley and Terri like she'd planned, her mother shipped her off to some child-labor camp where they'd make children eat bark and exercise every minute of the day. Although she'd despised it, she'd actually come home thirty pounds lighter and with a whole new attitude about herself. In other words, she became a stuck-up little bitch. But no one cared, because she was _skinny_.

Paige was the first to admit she'd been an obnoxious snot until ninth grade. But then, Dean had raped her, and it was like absolutely _everything_ changed. She'd stopped caring about all the superficial and useless crap she used to be obsessed with. She became a _much_ deeper person, but of course, she tried to hide it. But she kept on dressing like a Barbie doll and bossing people around, simply because that's what everyone expected her to do. Even though people acted like they hated her, that was the Paige they all knew and secretly loved. Paige Michealchuck, bitch extraordinaire. But at least she knew how to keep things interesting. There was never a dull moment with her.

But now that she was senior in high school, it was like, _who cared_? Paige didn't. She hated feeling so fake and superficial. She hated trying to maintain her reputation as the fiercest, most perfect, most lovable girl in school.

Paige stepped back from the mirror and plopped down on her bed, grabbing a box from underneath her mattress. She rolled over onto her stomach and opened the lid. Inside were a few photos and Paige picked them up. They weren't pictures of her and Spinner. No, she proudly displayed those pictures on her dresser, in expensive frames. She tacked those up on her bulletin board and hung them in her locker. These were pictures of her and Jimmy. The ones she kept under her bed. They were hidden, just like their relationship.

Most of them were taken when they'd found the rare opportunities to escape together, like times when both Spin and Hazel were busy. After a few minutes, Paige dropped them into the box and shoved it angrily back under the bed. What was the point? Jimmy and Paige weren't together anymore. She'd made sure of it.

God, she wished she could just get the balls to stop caring about what other people would think about her and Jimmy. She wished she had the balls to just say fuck them and to start dating Jimmy openly. She wished she could be one of those girls, like Riley Corey and Ellie Nash, who didn't worry about their reputations. And when people did talk about them, they didn't give a fuck. They did whatever the hell they wanted, without any apologies. Paige _loathed_ them for it. She wished she could stop caring so much about her image. If people found out about her and Jimmy, it would be the scandal of the year, and people would hate her for it. Paige already hated _herself_ for it. She couldn't believe she had been doing that to her boyfriend and best friend.

Twenty minutes later, Paige was strolling confidently through the hallway, aware that all eyes were on her. "Congratulations, Queen!" Jade Farley called out, patting Paige on the shoulder as she walked by. Paige blew her a kiss, trying to bask in the glory. She smiled while people kept calling out and congratulating her, but she just felt like a big, fake, back-stabbing liar. If they knew the truth, they wouldn't have voted her Autumn Queen. She knew it.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She ducked into the girl's bathroom and leaned against the sink. Then, she went into a stall, shut the door behind her, and threw up. When she was finished, she flushed the toilette and stepped out. And came face-to-face with Ashley Kerwin.

"Uh, hey, girl," Paige said, smiling. "I _love_ your shirt."

Ashley was staring uneasily at her. "Were you just….throwing up?"

"Um, I must have eaten something," Paige replied breezily, stepping around Ashley to the sink. "That's the last time I let Dylan make me an omelet for breakfast." She turned on the faucet.

Ashley took a deep breath. "Paige…is it…maybe something else?"

"What?"

"I know you've always been self-conscious about your body. And lots of girls are," Ashley explained. "But there are right ways to lose weight, and wrong ways-"

"Are you saying I have an eating disorder?" Paige asked in disbelief, staring at Ashley in the mirror.

"I don't know….do you?"

Paige snatched her purse off the counter and whirled around. "You don't know anything," Paige hissed, glaring at Ashley. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Can't you _ever_ mind your own business?"

"I'm just trying to help-"

"Well, don't," Paige said. She hurried out of the bathroom, as fast as her strappy black sandals would let her. She hurried down the hall and then stopped, leaning against the wall.

_Ashley has no idea what she's talking about_, Paige said, gulping in some air as she took a few deep breaths. Paige didn't have an eating disorder. In fact, right now, her weight was the last thing on her mind. But could she explain it to Ashley? No. Ashley just wouldn't understand. She wouldn't understand about Jimmy, either. So that's why Paige knew it was best to keep everything- _everything_- to herself.

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror of the trophy case across the hall. _Hey, everyone has secrets_.

Riley walked through the crowded hallway Monday morning, still completely hung over from the night before. She'd been dragged yet again to another "society function" by her mother, where she had gotten hammered, made out with a yummy Italian boy, and then promptly passed out in the woman's restroom. Since apparently no one had bothered to look for her, she'd woken up at dawn that morning, sprawled across the sofa in the woman's lounge. Riley could barely open her eyes, let alone walk in a straight line. As she rounded a corner, she slammed into some girl, and stumbled back. "Jesus fuck," she snapped, rubbing her forehead. The girl mumbled an apology and scurried off. After an eternity, Riley finale made it to her locker, flicked the lock, and opened it. _My head is killing me_, she thought miserably, sticking her head into the dark locker and closing her eyes. _That's better-_

"Riley?"

Riley pulled her head out and blinked. "Yeah?"

"Here," the mousy blonde said, handing Riley a flier. Riley couldn't remember seeing her before, but thought her name might be Maggie. Who the hell knew? And it's not like Riley really cared. Riley took the flier and glanced at it. "Abstinence? You've _got_ to be kidding me."

The girl hugged her binder to her chest and shook her head. "Uh, no. Actually, it's a youth group about leading a pure, good, fulfilling life, but this meeting is focused specifically on abstinence. We thought maybe you could benefit from it."

"What the hell does_ that_ mean?" Riley asked coldly, narrowing her eyes. But she knew exactly what the girl meant. _In other words, I'm a dirty whore_.

The girl blinked, and smiled widely. "Nothing! Actually, I've been handing them out to a lot of the girls. It's really inspirational. I _love_ it. It's just changed my whole life."

"So it's like, a gathering of virgins?"

"Well, we don't put it like that. We're not a cult," the girl explained, laughing loudly. Riley just stared and stuck a piece of gum into her mouth. "Anyway….we'd _love_ it if you'd just come and give us a try. You won't regret it. I l_ove_ it."

"Hmm…well, I'd _love_ to attend, but I'm going to be busy this afternoon." She spit her gum into the flier, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into her locker. "Having a lot of sex."

The girl giggled hesitantly, but Riley could tell she wasn't sure if it was a joke or not. "Uh….ok. That's too bad. But if you, uh, get the time think about coming. It's so worth it." She gave Riley another large smile, and practically skipped off down the hallway, her blonde ponytail bouncing behind her. Riley smirked. Those pure do-gooder types bugged the hell out of her. Why were virgins always so happy? It's not like they were having sex or anything. She turned back to her locker and saw Manny approaching her own locker a few feet away. Riley grabbed the flier and threw it at Manny. "Here. Got a present for you."

Manny picked it up and tried to open it. "Ew. There's gum in it." She stopped and read it. "Ha ha. Very funny. This can't possibly be yours."

"Nope. Got it off some virgin. Maybe you and Craig should go. It might inspire you to lead cleaner lives."

Manny sniffed unhappily and stared into her locker. "Actually…Craig dumped me."

"Ouch. Sorry. Well, Craig's a douche-bag, anyway. That's no big surprise. You can do better. Craig's not exactly Mr. Charming, you know," Riley pointed out, subtly nodding her head behind her, where Ashley was getting a sip of water from the water fountain. Manny just blew a stray strand of hair out of her face, and frowned. "He loved me."

Riley slammed her locker shut and banged her head against it. "I'm sure he did. But please do not go into a deep depression over Mr. Moody-Rock-Star! We're officially into phase "move-on". Wanna come over this afternoon? I got some awesome weed. We can get really high and flirt with the pool boy. You love that."

"Not in the mood," Manny said blandly. "Besides, the pool boy is gay."

"No, he's not. Pablo is just…confused."

"Whatever. I just don't feel like it." Manny closed her locker. Riley shrugged. "Alright. We can go to this gay virgin meeting. You know, just for kicks and giggles. I bet they'll say a bunch of stupid crap, and we can laugh our asses off. It'll be funny."

Manny shook her head. "No. Maybe another time. Besides, I should go to cheerleading practice. Bye." Manny walked off, leaving Riley alone. Riley sighed. When Manny was sad, she made sure everyone around her was as equally miserable. Riley had seen Manny like this before; she'd mope around and eat a lot of ice cream and ponder the mysteries and cruelty of life. And then she'd be back to her normal self in a few days, and Craig would probably get back together with her. Because Craig _always_ got back together with Manny. This time would be no different.

Hopefully.

Emma wandered down the hall later that afternoon, her mind a complete mess. After the disaster of Saturday night, Emma was not only horribly confused, but she also felt like a _huge_ slut. She had intentionally avoided Sean's phone calls all weekend. She couldn't possibly talk to him, not after what she'd done. Emma was still horrified with herself- what kind of girlfriend lost her virginity to her boyfriend's best friend?

Emma was so lost in her thoughts that she ended up bumping into someone, and her books fell out of her arms and onto the floor. She looked up and saw Jay standing in her front of her, staring at her. When she was finally over her initial shock, she sighed angrily and bent down to collect her things. _Just ignore him_, she thought to herself_. Maybe he'll get the hint and just go away. _To her dismay, Jay squatted down and began picking up some of her things. Even though it was a nice gesture, Emma was annoyed. _Since when does Jay lend a helping hand?_ "I got it, _thanks_," Emma snapped, yanking her notebook out of his hands.

Jay sighed. "Look, Emma….about the other night…"

"I don't…I don't want to talk about it," she stuttered, standing up. "In fact, let's pretend it never happened."

Jay coughed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah…we should probably do that. But I just wanted to-"

"Jay, please," Emma said, holding up a hand. "Some other time, ok? Just not…not _now_."

"Fine," Jay mumbled, slipping his sunglasses onto his face. "Whatever." He turned and walked down the hallway to one of the exit door, pushed it open, and stepped outside. Emma watched him go, feeling strangely conflicted inside. Had Jay just actually…looked sad? This was the boy without any human emotions, right? Well, except maybe greed and hate, which he had perfected well. Emma bent down and went back to picking up her things, telling herself she shouldn't really care what Jay Hogart was feeling.

"Hey, bony-ass," Emma heard someone say from behind her, and next thing she knew, the person kicked her, and she fell over onto her pile of books. "Whoops! Sorry. I forgot you're so scrawny."

Emma sat up and rubbed her elbow. "Ow. That's ok. I think I only fractured my elbow."

"Did you drop your books?" Emma nodded. "Jay bumped into me. It was sufficiently awkward." Emma stood up. Riley shrugged. "Understandably. Did he say anything?"

"Not really."

"Hey…you're ok, right?" Riley asked, putting a supportive hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah."

"That's good. Uh…I'm sorry about…you know. Putting you in Jay's car and all that…"

"Don't be," Emma said quickly. "It's my fault. I'm the one to blame. You weren't even there."

Riley looked away and cleared her throat. If only Emma knew the truth...If there was any time to own up to what she'd done, this was it. "Uh, yeah. I guess your right."

"I don't want to talk about it, really," Emma said, taking a shaky breath. "I've already thought about it enough." She smiled bravely and stuck her head high in the air. "Come on." She turned and walked confidently down the hall, and stopped at the bulletin board in front of the main office. Riley followed her and saw Emma staring at the board. "What are you staring at?"

"The sign-up sheet for Romeo and Juliet," Emma explained. "I signed up for it last week. I just love the play. It's a story about how true love conquers all." She thought about Sean, and hoped their love could conquer anything. Like, say, a stupid, meaningless hook-up with his best friend.

"But don't Juliet and Romeo, like, die?"

Emma nodded. "Yes. But that's not the point. The point is, they loved each other enough to die for each other. That's how strong their bond was. They gave up their lives to be together."

"But they didn't even have to die," Riley pointed out. "I mean, Juliet was faking, right? If Romeo hadn't been such a pussy drama-queen and just waited a bit, she would have woken up and they could have run off to Vegas or something. But no. Juliet wakes up and finds the dude dead, and goes and stabs herself. And for what?"

"For love," Emma said in frustration. "They could be together in the after life….never mind. You obviously don't get it."

"Guess not," Riley said flippantly. She turned and yanked the sign-up sheet off the board, ripping the staple out with it. Emma opened her mouth to say something, but then realized that lecturing Riley was just like lecturing a dog. They pretended to listen, but they didn't comprehend a thing. "Let's see. Juliet. Marcie Conner-whore. Emily Angle. She's got really sick hair. And of course, Emma Nelson, the finest actress in all the land." Emma smiled and blushed.

Riley waved the paper in Emma's face. "Now, who's going to be your leading man? Let's see….Romeo. Jack Woods. He's pretty sexy, if not a bit of a drama freak. Tommy Lawlor…I hooked up with him. He's hott, but he didn't know what the hell was going on, if you know what I mean." Riley paused and looked down at the paper again. She began giggling uncontrollably. "Oh, god. That's priceless."

"What?" Emma asked. Riley just put a hand over her mouth and kept laughing. "What are you snickering about?" Emma grabbed the paper out of Riley's hand and stared at it. Her jaw dropped open. "Jay Hogart? What? This has got to be a joke. Someone probably signed him up to be funny."

Riley shook her head, still giggling. "No. Jay's the only seventeen-year-old I know who scribbles like a kindergartner."

"This isn't funny!" Emma hissed. Riley nodded.

"You're right. It's just….he obviously wants to get closer to you. He must like you now. Emma, I do declare, I think Jay is in _love_ with you," Riley purred in a southern accent.

"Don't say that. I have no idea what Jay is doing trying out for the play, but it has nothing to do with me," Emma said confidently.

"You're in denial."

"Riley, just shut up for once," Emma snapped, pining the sheet back onto the board. "Look, what happened between us was a big mistake. It didn't mean anything. I still hate Jay, and Jay hates me. End of story. Now excuse me, but I'm going to go….do something else." Emma gave Riley one last withering look, and stomped off. Riley just smirked. This was perfect. She felt like she'd struck gold. Jay was falling for Emma. _So the plot thickens_, Riley thought, turning and scribbling her name down on the sign-up sheet. She didn't even really care what part she got. She'd be right there to make sure Emma and Jay got some _quality_ time together.

"Ok, girls, we need to clean up our jump combinations, because their looking incredibly sloppy," Paige yelled across the gym, clapping her hands for attention. "Hello? Did anyone hear me? I want everyone to line up and try their combination again. We could all use the work. Especially you, Manny. It might help if you showed up to practice occasionally," she said to Manny, who was standing in the back.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Manny replied, with a bit more attitude than Paige would have liked. But Paige decided to drop it, because it didn't look good to get into a fight in the middle of cheerleading practice. A captain always had to keep her cool. She tightened the high pony-tail on top of her head and clapped again. "Alright. Get to work, ladies. Competitions are in a few weeks, and I want this team to look _crisp_."

Paige watched for a second as the girls scrambled into a line and began working on their individual jump combinations. Then, after a minute, she wandered over to the bleachers and sat down. _This team would suck without me_, she thought, watching as Manny completely messed up her Y-leap. God, the girl didn't even pretend to look like she was trying. Last year, Manny had been one of the most dedicated girls on the squad. Paige had considered her one of the strongest athletes on the team. She'd even been planning to hand down her captainship to her when she graduated. But then, of course, the whole Craig-fiasco had happened, and Manny's reputation had plummeted right down the drain. Not that Paige really cared about reputation- all she wanted was a fucking awesome cheerleader, which Manny was. But then, at some point during the end of last year, Manny had simply quit trying.

"Excuse me, Paige, but why aren't you working on your combo?" Heather Sinclair asked snottily, placing her hands on her fat hips.

"To be honest, Heather, I don't need as much work as the rest of you," Paige lied, smiling sweetly. "I thought I'd be more of a help sitting back and watching all of you. By the way, you're form is getting really sloppy. Your arms are flying all over the place. That's something you might want to work on."

Heather narrowed her eyes and snorted. "I think we all know the real reason she's sitting out, anyway," she whispered to her friend, and she turned to walk away. Paige stood up and folded her arms over her chest. "Excuse me? Is there something you'd like to say?"

Heather turned around. "I said, we all know why you're really sitting out."

"And why is that?"

Heather glanced around. "You really want me to say it? In front of everyone?"

"Go ahead," Paige challenged. "What? You don't have the courage to say it to my face?"

Heather stuck her chin in the air. "Fine. We've all heard about your eating disorder. You must be pretty weak from all that throwing up."

Paige's mouth fell open in shock. Heather just stared at her smugly, while all the other girls glanced at each other hesitantly. There was a dead silence, and Paige took a shaky breath. She couldn't believe that Ashley, one of her so-called "best friends" had blabbed to the whole school that she had thrown up in the bathroom. Paige was learning fast that she couldn't trust _anyone_ anymore. Paige stomped down the bleachers and stormed out of the gymnasium. She heard Hazel calling after her, but she didn't stop. She ran down the hall and into the girl's bathroom. A few seconds later, the door opened behind her.

"Hazel, just go away…" Paige began, but she looked up and saw Manny standing by the door. "Oh. It's _you_."

"Are you ok? Heather is a jerk. A really ugly jerk."

Paige turned on the faucet. "Why should I give a shit about what Heather Sinclair says?" she said defensively, mindlessly washing her hands for no reason. She just needed something to do. "What is this? Are you trying to score points with me by sucking up?"

Manny shrugged. "No offense, but impressing you isn't high on my list of priorities. Actually…I just know what it's like to have people talking about you. It's not fun." Paige said nothing. She just kept scrubbing her hands. "You know…my cousin Maria had an eating disorder. She just wanted to lose a few pounds, but it turned into this whole big thing, and she ended up-"

"Manny," Paige interrupted, turning off the faucet. "I…don't…have….an…eating….disorder."

Manny nodded. "Ok. But let's say you did. They have some really good clinics for-"

"Manny, for God's sake, I'm not bulimic. I'm…I'm pregnant, ok?"

Manny looked shocked. She clearly hadn't been expecting that. "Wow. Um…wow. Well, that's actually really great news. Babies can be wonderful things…"

"Manny…you don't understand."

"Then why don't you explain it to me? I'm just trying to help."

"Spin and I….have never had sex." That was probably the shock of the century, considering most people thought Paige was a sexpert. The idea that Spin and Paige, who had been dating for almost three years, still hadn't had sex was unthinkable.

Manny's eyes widened, finally understanding. "_Oh_."

Paige whirled around. "Look, I swear, if you tell anyone, I'll kick you off the Spirit Squad. And you'll be ruined at this school forever."

Manny didn't bother to explain to Paige that she would love it if Paige kicked her off the team. She'd been waiting for Paige to give her the boot for months. She had actually been trying _so_ hard to suck at cheerleading. And she decided not to mention that her reputation was basically already destroyed, anyway. But obviously Paige felt she held some kind of power with that, so Manny pretended to look scared. "Ok! You have my word. No one hears about this."

"….And I'll tell Craig about your little drug problem."

"What?" Manny said, hoping that Paige was joking. But Paige was glaring at her with a frown on her pretty face, and Manny knew she was completely serious. The first rule of keeping a secret- _deny, deny, deny_. "I don't know what you're talking-"

"_Please_. This is me you're talking too," Paige said, pointing to her chest. "Ken Walker told me all about it. I bet Craig doesn't know that his little girlfriend is actually a drug addict…."

"Shut up," Manny snapped, on the verge of tears. It didn't even matter that she wasn't Craig's "little girlfriend" anymore. He'd still be disgusted with her all the same. "I am not. Why are you being so mean? I haven't done anything to you."

"Maybe not yet," Paige said, stepping closer to Manny. "I'm just warning you. I play dirty."

Manny swallowed hard. "I said I'd keep my mouth shut. I promise. You're secret is safe with me."

_This is stupid_, Sean warned himself as he drummed his hands against the steering wheel as he stared at the modest, white house in front of him. _She's probably not even home. She probably doesn't even want to talk to you._ He had ditched school early just to come here. Actually, Sean was positive that Ellie didn't want to talk to him. Sean should really just forget about Ellie Nash. She was part of his past, something he had to let go of. Kind of like Riley Corey. Except he knew that, unlike Riley, if he let go of Ellie, she was never coming back. And Sean just wasn't sure if he was ready to do that. He had Emma, who was the perfect girlfriend, but Sean would be lying if he didn't admit that he still felt something for Ellie. He'd known it the moment he'd seen her at the bus stop, drunk off her ass. He'd just wanted to reach out and hold her. He'd wanted to take her home and save her from all her problems. Because Christ, she needed help.

But he wasn't the guy to help her. Not anymore.

Sean finally unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. He walked up the cobble-stone pathway to the front door. He rang the doorbell and knocked once. He heard footsteps inside, and finally the front door opened. It was Ellie's Mom, and Sean cringed. Ellie's mother had always despised him for unknown reasons. She'd always had a scathing insult for him, and never failed to make fun of him because his family had less money than they did. He hated Mrs. Nash. She was a drunken bitch, and she'd treated Ellie like shit. "Hello, Mrs. Nash. Is Ellie around?"

"Sean?" she asked, blinking and swaying slightly. She was drunk. Surprise, surprise. "Sean Cameron?"

"Yeah. Is Ellie here?"

She leaned heavily against the doorway, peering at him through heavily lidded eyes. "Nope. Ellie don't live here no more." She started chuckling.

"I heard she'd moved back here," Sean said uneasily.

"Well she did," Mrs. Nash said matter-of-factly, shaking her head. "For a few days. But _no._ Ellie thought she was too good for us. We were never good enough for her. We weren't the "perfect" parents," she slurred, using her fingers for quotation marks. "I guess loving her just wasn't _enough_. She moved out a few days ago."

"Do you have any idea where she might be?"

Mrs. Nash folded her arms over her chest. She stared at him. "Eh, you're not so bad. Better than that other loser she's been dating. Maybe I underestimated you, Steve. I'll let you in on a little secret." She leaned forward and exaggerated a wink. Sean felt embarrassed for both of them. "She's living in an apartment building. The one right next to Bert's Deli? Not sure which apartment, but she's there. I saw her outside, getting ready to go inside. I told her I wanted her to come home." She laughed sadly. "She told me to fuck off."

Sean slowly began backing away. "Ok…thanks, Mrs. Nash."

She leaned out the door. "Steve?" she called out. Sean didn't bother to correct her.

"Yeah?"

"If you find her, tell her I love her. Tell her I'm sorry. Please?" And a second later, Mrs. Nash shut the door.

Sean stood in front of apartment 4D, trying to get the courage to knock. After asking around, he'd found out exactly where Ellie was staying. All he had to do was mention her flaming red hair and everyone knew who he was talking about. In fact, he'd heard a few stories about her, too. He'd asked a man who was leaving the building with his dog, and the man had just chuckled. "Red? Yeah, I've seen her. She lives in apartment 4D. That one….always wandering in and out of here at all hours of the night and day. Keeps to herself, mostly. I'll tell you, my wife and I have complained a few times about noise coming from that apartment. That boy of hers is one of the loudest people I have ever meant."

Sean finally raised his hand and rapped on the door twice. A minute later the door swung open. Sean stared at the guy standing in front of him. His brown hair stood up in pointy spikes all over his head, and he looked like he hadn't bothered to shave in a few days. His grungy clothes hung loosely on his thin frame, and Sean spotted a small silver hoop in his ear. He looked like he'd just woken up. The guy yawned and squinted at Sean. "Did I order a pizza?" he asked, propping his lankly arms on either side of the door. "Is it pepperoni?"

"Uh…no," Sean said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He wondered if they guy even noticed that he obviously wasn't holding a pizza. "I'm kind of looking for Ellie. Ellie Nash."

"Yeah, I know who Ellie is. Uh. And who are you?" he asked, although Sean got the impression this guy didn't really care. He got the impression that this guy didn't care about much in general.

"Sean Cameron."

The guy straightened up and rubbed his tired eyes, which were so bright blue that Sean could see right through them. "So you're Sean?" He smirked. "Look, buddy…what the fuck are you doing here?"

Sean took a deep breath. So the guy had heard about him. Eh, that wasn't shocking. Ellie had probably explained what an asshole he was. "We're both men here-"

Brice chuckled. "Men. Yeah, alright. Why don't you come back here when you've hit puberty?"

"I just need to say some things to Ellie. I just want to talk to her."

Brice shook his head. "That's touching, really. But I've heard about you. Ellie's _my_ fucking girlfriend now, dude. And she doesn't want to talk to you. Ever. So I don't want to see you hanging around here again, ok? Ellie's done with you." He stepped back and slammed the door in Sean's face.

Sean kicked angrily at the carpet. So that was Ellie's new boyfriend. He wasn't what Sean had been expecting. He looked twenty, _at least_. And he seemed to have his shit together a lot better than Sean did. It was typical. Girls always fell for the older, more mature guys who promised them the world. But Sean still got the feeling that Ellie's boyfriend was bad news. But that was Ellie. She'd always been throwing caution to the wind, doing whatever she pleased.

Sean finally wandered to the staircase and jogged down the stairs. He walked through the lobby and out the revolving doors. Outside the autumn air was crisp and cool. He began walking down the sidewalk to where he had parked his car, but he stopped when he spotted a flier tacked onto a telephone pole. There was a grainy picture of a band performing, and the guy who was singing into the microphone was Ellie's boyfriend. LIVE PERFORMANCE at METROPOLITAN, it read. Sean grabbed the flier and tore it off. Yeah, he'd heard about the Metropolitan. It was a hot club downtown that had new bands playing every week.

Ellie would be there, of course. And if Ellie was there, then Sean would be, too. He was bordering on stalker status, but Sean couldn't help it. He'd go there and make Ellie listen to him, and Mr. Boyfriend would be too busy playing rock star to get in the way.

Ellie stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy white towel around herself. She stepped in front of the mirror and cringed when she saw the cuts and scratches on her pale arms. She hated them. She hated feeling like such a freak. Such a psycho. She knew what people would say. They'd pretend to be all compassionate and understanding, but they would never understand. They could never comprehend why someone would hurt themselves like that. Cutting was an addiction. It could make you feel so good, and it could make you feel so bad.

She'd never told Brice. There had never been that right place, the right time to bring it up. It's not that he wouldn't care- it's just she didn't want to lay that burden on him. She'd told Sean. Why, she'd never really know. It had freaked him out at first, but after awhile he'd started to understand.

Of course, Brice had seen the scars. They were hard to miss. She remembered the first time he'd seen them. It was the first time they had had sex and the first time he'd seen Ellie without her usual long-sleeved shirts.

"Hey, what's that?" Brice had asked, staring at the cuts on her thighs and arms.

She'd been so afraid he's dump her. And at that point, she knew she'd die with Brice. It was that simple.

"My Dad…used to beat me," Ellie lied. And poor Brice. He'd actually believed her. He hadn't even noticed when new cuts and bruises appeared. Or maybe he hadn't _wanted_ to notice. Sometimes she wondered if he knew the truth, but just wanted to pretend it didn't exist. Brice did that with a lot of things. He just tried to pretend nothing was wrong. Ellie did it, too. And things were so much simpler when they were fooling themselves. In some sense, their whole relationship was an act. But neither of them wanted to change it. Things were going so perfectly. Why fuck it up now?

Ellie ran a comb through her wet hair, and then twisted it into two neat pigtails. As she did, she heard voices in the living room. Then she heard the front door slam shut. Curious, she opened the bathroom door and stepped out. "Hey, who was that?"

Brice turned and faced her. "Oh, no one. Just some pizza-delivery guy who got the address mixed up."

"Oh."

"So you ready for the concert tomorrow? He asked, walking toward her and pulling off his gray t-shirt. "Your boyfriend is going to be kicking ass onstage." Brice stopped and started head-banging as he played the air guitar. Ellie rolled her eyes at his stupidity. "I can just see it now. The money, the record deals, the screaming girls going crazy…"

"Should I be jealous?" Ellie joked, raising an eyebrow. Brice smiled and shook his head.

"Nah. Why would I be interested in other girls when I've got the hottest one around?" he asked, walking past to the bathroom. He slapped her on the butt, and Ellie jumped. "You done with the bathroom?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Brice said, winking and closing the bathroom door. A second later she heard the shower running. Ellie hurried into the bedroom to choose something hot to wear for the concert. After all, with all those slutty girls around, she had to make sure Brice only had eyes for her.

Jay sat on the hood if his car, holding a copy of the play _Romeo and Juliet_, and scratching his head as he tried to figure out what the hell it meant. _Man, William Shakespeare must have been on crack,_ he thought, turning the page. But, even though he couldn't understand half of it, he was actually_ enjoying_ the play. It was probably the first piece of literature that Jay had ever read in his life. Usually he just read Play Boy and sports magazines.

Alex and Amy walked up, laughing. Jay hardly even noticed. Alex snatched the book out of his hand and stared at it. "Oh, I thought it was a car magazine. What is this? Romeo and Juliet?"

"Yeah," Jay mumbled defensively, grabbing it back. "I was reading it."

"You can read?" Amy asked, laughing.

"Just because you can't doesn't mean you have to get all jealous. Don't worry- you'll learn someday," Jay retorted, grabbing a twig and throwing it at her. Amy frowned. "Ow. That hurt."

Jay shrugged and went back to concentrating on the play. He'd never really cared for Amy. She had a big rack, but she also had a big mouth. A big, obnoxious mouth. He only tolerated her for Alex's sake.

"Wait," Alex said. "You're not seriously trying out for this play, are you?"

"Maybe."

"That's so gay!" Amy said. This time Jay threw a rock at her. "Jay, stop it!" she squealed. "Fine. I'm leaving. Alex, call me later, ok?" Amy stomped off. Jay smiled. Alex waved to her friend and turned back to her boyfriend. "Um…since when are you into acting? What happened to making fun of the theater kids?"

"Maybe I just feel like expanding my horizon. Try new things and all that."

Jay didn't want to admit the real reason he was trying out for the play. He really didn't give a shit about Romeo and Juliet. He just wanted to get closer to Emma. And when he'd noticed her name on the sign-up sheet, he'd put his name down without really thinking. He figured maybe he could impress her. Maybe he could show her there was more to Jay than just making fun of losers and fixing cars and drinking.

"What's wrong with you? You're being so weird lately," Alex said, climbing onto his lap. She kissed his neck and smiled. "What's up?"

Jay frowned and pushed her off his lap. "You're ass is kind of bony. You're hurting my leg."

Alex frowned. "You've never had any complaints about my ass before."

Jay shrugged. "Yeah, well…" He stuck the play into his backpack and jumped off the car. "Ready to go?" Alex just glared and walked around to the passenger's side. Once they were both inside, Jay started the engine and sped out of the parking lot. They drove in silence for a few minutes, until they finally stopped in front of Alex's house. Jay killed the engine. "Ok. See you tomorrow."

Alex didn't move. "That's it? My parents aren't going to be home till ten. Don't you want to come inside….?" She put a seductive hand on his leg.

Usually, Jay would have been sprinting to the house by now, pulling off his clothes as he went. But now…he just wasn't turned on anymore. Alex was gorgeous and feisty and great in bed, but it just wasn't there anymore. He couldn't believe it. "Actually….I should probably get home and practice my lines. Auditions are tomorrow."

"I'm in the fucking twilight zone," Alex mumbled, staring out the window. She glanced at him quickly. "Are you fucking around on me? Is there someone else?"

"No!" Jay said a little too quickly. "I just….really want this part."

Alex glared at him, and then unbuckled her seat belt. She opened the door. "I don't know what's going on with you," she said, climbing out of the car. "But you better believe I'm going to find out." She slammed the door shut and walked away. Jay sighed and started the car.

As he drove home, Jay wondered what the hell he was doing. After just one night with Emma, he couldn't stop thinking about her. It's like she had somehow invaded his brain and was fucking with it. _Romeo and Juliet_? She had even gotten him to try out for the school play. He wasn't even turned on anymore by Alex, and he had just opted to go home and spend quality time with a book instead of having sex with his girlfriend. There was no doubt about it- Emma had somehow managed to weasel her way into his life without even trying. And now, even though he was trying to fight it, he knew he was falling for her. _Hard_. Jay had always considered Emma a stuck-up geek, but now he was doing gay shit like trying out for the play just to get close to her. Welcome to the land of the nerds.

_I am in the fucking twilight zone_, he thought.

Author's Note- Ugh! It's been forever since I've updated, but I've been really busy and haven't had alot of free time. Sorry if this chapter isn't that great, but I was kind of hurrying to finish it up. I guess I've just felt a little uninspired lately...But I hope to be putting out more chapters fasters, and maybe even starting a new story. Please read and review and tell me what you think. There's going to be more Sean/Ellie, Emma/Jay, and Craig/Ash in the next chapt.

And for those of you who think I'm focusing too much on Riley...I absolutely agree. But I admit I sometimes have more fun with new characters, just because I can do whatever I want with them. Riley is kind of going to play a part in everyone's storylines, and that's why I was putting so much focus on her.She's going to have a softer side soon, andmight actually start doing the right thing...But I'll tone it down a bit, and will try to focus on other characters! But thanks for pointing that out.


	8. Intoxicated

Sean shifted awkwardly to the music, shuffling his feet and grabbing at the stiff collar or his button down white dress shirt. He made a gagging noise, and glared at Riley. "I hate you."

Riley, who was gazing around the crowded ballroom, looking for Calvin, finally glanced at him. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

Sean sighed. "Riley, this is the last time you drag me anywhere, ok? You've had your little fun with this whole blackmailing thing, but come on. You can't exploit people like this. It's wrong."

Riley looked at him and smiled like a Cheshire cat. "Of course I can," she purred matter-of-factly, smacking her heavily glossed lips together and blowing him a kiss. "And I'm not really forcing you to be here. Subconsciously, you _want_ to be here. Just admit it. You love spending time with me."

"What world do you live in?"

"My world," she replied simply. She stepped closer to him and looped her spider-like arms around his neck. Sean caught a whiff of her fruity perfume, and for a split second, he thought maybe he actually missed holding her. Maybe he missed being with her. But he shoved that thought away and put on his most disgusted face. He hated following her around like some kind of man-servant, all because she had a measly picture of him kissing another girl. "Maybe I haven't made myself clear, or maybe you just didn't understand. Let me put this in the simplest way that I can. I'm using you to make Calvin jealous." Sean rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's not easy holding onto an older man like him. Well, if you're not me, that is. See, I know how to play the game. He probably thinks he's the one stringing me along, but in reality, I'm the one holding all the cards here. You get what I'm saying?"

"Loud and clear."

Riley smiled at him and nodded. "Good." She inched closer to him. "This is just like old times, isn't it?" she whispered, running a hand up and down his back. Sean stiffened, dropped his arms from her waist, and stepped back. "Want a drink?" he asked flatly. Riley clenched her jaw. No matter what she did, Sean never responded to her. When she pushed, he'd just push back harder. Riley was getting pretty fucking sick of chasing after Sean Cameron. "Fine," she snapped. "But I don't get you, Sean. I know you want me. You can keep fooling yourself into thinking you don't, but you miss what we had."

"Get over yourself," Sean said. "I hope you don't really think I'm all hung-up on you. Because believe me, I'm not. Now, what do you want to drink?"

Riley sniffed. "Whatever," she muttered. Sean walked off, and she watched him, biting her lip. It was amazing how Sean could make her feel like shit all the time. He wasn't even trying, for God's sake, and he made her feel _so_ worthless. Riley stood on the dance floor, tapping her foot and watching as Sean struck up a conversation with a girl at the bar while he waited for their drinks. She was just about to stomp over there when she heard a loud commotion near the door, so she turned to see what the big deal was. She saw Mrs. Turner, Calvin's fierce-looking wife, storming toward her, followed by two frantic staff members. "Slut!" Mrs. Turner yelled.

It took Riley a moment to realize she was talking to her. "Excuse me?"

"I know," Georgia hissed, her clear blue eyes flashing. She had this crazy, deranged expression in them, and for a second, Riley was actually _afraid_. "I know, you little harlot. I know about you and my husband."

Everyone had stopped dancing and had turned to watch the unfolding spectacle. Riley was mildly shocked, but she regained her composure quickly. "You must have me confused with someone else. Sorry." She turned to walk away, but Georgia grabbed her arm and spun her back around. "Let go, you old hag! I could have you arrested for assault!" Riley cried, wiggling her arm free. "Jesus Christ, you're fucking insane!"

"And I could have you arrested for prostituting," Georgia said. "I can't believe my husband has been seeing a little _whore_ like you."

Ok, now everyone, including the fucking bartenders, were watching. Riley usually adored a crowd, but this was just plain awful. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Riley snapped, placing her hands on her hips. "You're obviously looking for someone to blame just because you can't hold onto your husband. And I don't appreciate being verbally harassed because your husband can't keep it in his pants."

"How dare you," Georgia said, taking another step toward her. Her expertly-dyed red hair was a mess, and she looked ready to kill someone. "You don't get it, do you?" she said slowly. "You've ruined my whole life. You've ruined my whole family. Calvin is leaving, because of you."

"I still don't…..wait, what?" Riley asked. _Rewind…Calvin's what?_

Georgia's eyes filled with tears. "He's leaving me. He's leaving his family to be with his little mistress. He's throwing away our whole life because of you. We were so happy." She took a deep, shaky breath. "But you don't even care. You don't even care that you've destroyed my family. This was all fun for you, wasn't it?"

For the first time in seventeen years, Riley was actually speechless. "But…but…" she finally stuttered out. "I don't even _want _Calvin." _I want Sean, _she thought.

And then Georgia threw out her fist and punched Riley in the face. The two staff members, who had just been standing there, as stunned as everyone, finally jumped into action, and dragged Georgia away, kicking and crying. Riley just stood there, aware that about a thousand accusative eyes were on her, and she could hear them all whispering, probably about what a teenage whore she was._ Oh, my, God_, she thought stupidly, holding her throbbing cheek. _Did that actually just happen_?

Riley turned and ran off the dance floor. She stopped when she saw Sean standing there, staring at her in amazement. Bu then she turned and ran out of the room. "Riley, wait!" Sean called, following her.

A few minutes later, Riley was standing outside, inhaling a few breaths of the cool, autumn air. She leaned against one of the large white pillars, and saw Sean walk up. She sighed. "I don't want to hear it, ok? She said glumly, running her hands over her face. "I was just publicly humiliated and outed as a slut, so fuck off."

Sean shrugged. "I just came to see if you were ok," he said honestly. "I take it that was Calvin's wife?"

"Gee, how did you know?" Riley said sarcastically, staring up at the moon. "I can't believe she just made that whole scene in front of everyone in town. Couldn't she have, like, screamed at me on the phone?"

"I have a feeling she was going for a big public blow-up," Sean pointed out. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offered them to her. She eyed them. "I thought ever since you started seeing Emma again you quit smoking. Remember, you're going for saint-hood now?"

Sean smirked. "Eh, mostly. I don't really smoke them. I just carry them around, in case of, like, an emergency." Riley smiled and pulled one out. "Please tell me you have a lighter." Sean nodded and pulled one out. He lit it for her, and she took a long drag. "So, um, not to sound like a jerk, but-"

"I totally deserved that?" Riley interrupted, nodding. "I know. Thank you, Captain Obvious, but I'm aware this is all my doing." Just then, her cell phone buzzed, and she glance at it. "Calvin," she muttered. "What a fucking idiot." And she hurled her phone into a bush. "I'm seventeen, and he really thinks I'm going to run off with him? He obviously has no idea what he'd be getting himself into by doing _that_."

Sean smirked and watched as Riley smoked her cigarette. "You know, you're amazing. I'm not even gonna lie. I've never meant a girl like you."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"I'm not really sure," Sean admitted with a shrug. They stood in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm not a bad person," Riley blurted out suddenly. "I mean, I don't think I am. I'm can be pretty fucked up sometimes, but I really feel….bad, you know?" She tossed her cigarette on the ground and smashed it with her heel. "Like, I didn't _mean_ to ruin that lady's life. I just needed something to do after school. God, I'm such a bitch!"

"Uh…yeah."

Riley glared at him, although she knew he was only being honest. "Well, I intend to never see Calvin again_. Ever_. I've learned my lesson."

Sean smirked. "Wow, what a touching moment in the life of Riley Corey." Riley smirked and slapped him playfully in the shoulder. "Hey, take it easy." He reached out and lightly touched her cheek. "You're going to get a nice shiner. You should probably get some ice or a steak or something."

"I'm not putting raw meat on my face," Riley said. "I have ice at home. Hey, you should come over. We could watch a movie or something."

Sean kicked at a pebble. 'Nah. I'm tired, and I should get home."

"Oh," Riley said, disappointed. The idea of going back to a large, empty house pretty much sucked, but she could understand why Sean didn't want to go. _He probably thinks I'm going to rape him_, she thought. But honestly, she'd really _just _wanted to watch a movie. After the debacle inside, the idea of touching any guy made her ill. "Ok. I'll go tell Bernard to pull the car around. He'll drop you off." She turned and began to walk down the stone steps. "Wait, Riley." She turned. "It's got to be an action movie, not a sappy romance. And I demand that popcorn be made."

Riley smiled at him. "I'll pop it myself….alright, I'll probably get the cook to do it, but whatever."

"And no funny business?"

"And no funny business," She promised, and for once, she was telling the truth.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the curtains and into Riley's room, and she groggily opened one eye. And she immediately smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she'd woken up and had something to be really happy about. Last night had been the _best night ever_. She and Sean had just hung out in her large, comfy screening room, watching movies until two in the morning. And they'd actually talked, like normal people talked. Like, they were actually _friends_. It was so bizarre, but it was so wonderfully perfect at the same time.

Riley closed her eyes again, replaying her night with Sean over and over again in her head. But suddenly she heard her bedroom door swing open, and a second later, she felt her bedspread being yanked off of her. "Hey!" she mumbled, flipping over and squinting up at her mom. "Hello, _sleeping_."

"It's eight-thirty. You're late for school," her mother said, dropping the bedspread on the floor.

Since when did her mother care about her attending school? Last year Riley hadn't gone to school for two whole months, and her mother hadn't even blinked an eye. "So?" Riley snapped. "I'll go in a little bit. Don't have a _cow_."

"Are you calling me fat?"

Riley rolled her eyes. Sometimes talking to her mom was like communicating with a brick wall. "No," she said with an irritated sigh. "It's an expression."

"Well, fine," her mother said angrily, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm sure it is. Riley, what the hell were you doing last night? You made such a scene. I was _mortified_. People were talking about it for the rest of the night! Oh, my, God, you have a huge bruise on your face. Now everyone is going to know."

Riley wanted to slam her head against the wall. "Look, it was no big deal. I'll just cover it up with some makeup."

"No big deal? You looked like a slut, sleeping with someone's husband! Haven't I taught you right from wrong? Haven't I taught you anything?"

"No, mother, you taught me to do whatever I wanted, but to make sure people didn't find out about it. Like _you_ do. Sorry I disgraced the whole family, since we had such a sterling reputation in the first place." Riley said sarcastically, sitting up. "You're just mad because I made you look bad."

"You always make me look bad," her mother hissed. "Look, you can fuck around all you want. God knows you don't listen to me anyway. But the first rule of staying on the top social tier of this town is making sure you keep your personal affairs _personal_. Next time, be smarter. A huge public embarrassment like that just reeks of scandal. I can't have you ruining the family name, not after how hard your father and I have worked for it. Now get up and get dressed." Her mother turned and stormed out of the room.

Riley sat there, amazed. Her mother didn't give a shit that she had been sleeping with an older man. Her mother probably wouldn't give a shit if she knew Riley was snorting cocaine up her nose everyday. The only thing her mother cared about was keeping their reputation as squeaky clean as possible. Riley stood up and walked over to her closet, opened it, and pulled out the first thing she saw. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and winced when she saw the large, purplish-black bruise on her left cheek. Riley pulled on her clothes, ran a brush through her long hair, and plopped on the largest pair of sunglasses she could find. Then she turned and flounced out of her bedroom, vowing to forget last night had even happened, except for her amazing time with Sean. _Ancient history_, she thought.

Ellie sat hunched over her desk in Math class, staring blankly at the three-page test sitting in front of her. _Holy shit_, she thought stupidly. She couldn't even focus on the paper, but she was pretty sure she couldn't answer a single question. She tapped her pencil against the desk. She was _so_ completely drunk. She ran her hands over her face and took a deep breath. _Write down something_, she told herself. Ellie scribbled something down in the first box.

She stopped and glanced around. Mr. Armstrong was sitting behind his desk, grading papers and not paying any attention to her. She leaned over and tried to read Marco's paper, who was already halfway down with the test. Marco saw her and frowned. He covered his test with his hands. "What are you doing?"

Ellie bit her lip. "I need the answers. I forgot to study." _And I'm completely wasted_.

"No. That's cheating."

"Duh," Ellie whispered, and Marco frowned even harder. "Please. I'm like, failing this place already, so I kind of need your help in like, finishing this or something. I can't get another bad grade in History."

"What? This is Math. You're not even making sense." A second later, he sighed. "Fine. Go ahead."

Ellie nodded in relief. Although she had most stopped hanging out with Marco since she had gotten back, she could always count on him to be completely loyal. After all, he did kind of owe her for the time she had pretended to be his girlfriend so people wouldn't know he was gay. She began copying his answers down. She was almost on number six when she heard Mr. Armstrong clear his throat. "Ellie Nash, please go the office."

_Shit_, Ellie thought, glancing at Marco, who refused to even look at her. "Ok," she muttered, picking up her bag and setting down her pencil. She stood up and walked toward the door. Mr. Armstrong stood up and followed her. "Class, Mrs. Kenny will be watching you. I'll be right back."

They walked in silence for to the office, and Ellie had a hard time walking in a straight line. Mr. Armstrong noticed, and frowned. They finally reached the office, and Armstrong told Ellie to have a seat outside Mr. Raditch's office. Ellie took a seat and leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes. She had to sober up. She knew she was royally fucked over and in a shitload of trouble, but she still couldn't focus. A few minutes later, Armstrong reappeared. "You can go in now."

A minute later Ellie was sitting in front of Mr. Raditch, who was staring at her. It made her really uncomfortable. "Ellie, there seems to be a bit of a problem."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Raditch replied, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. "We don't tolerate cheating in this school. It's unacceptable. Mr. Armstrong seems to think you were cheating on your Math test. Were you?"

Ellie bit her lip and fiddled with the silver ring on her thumb. "Uh…what was the question again?"

"Were you cheating on your Math test?" Ellie nodded slowly. "Ellie, Mr. Armstrong seems to think you've been drinking. Is that true also?" Ellie blinked. "I know you've had a tough time over the last couple of months, and we've been trying to cut you some slack. This isn't the first time teachers have noticed you've been a little…out of it." He sighed. "Well, we're searching your locker as we speak." He stood up and adjusted his tie. "Come with me."

They walked out of the office and down the hallway toward Ellie's locker. Class was still going on, so the halls were empty and quiet. Ellie saw Mr. Armstrong at her locker, going through her things. _Stupid bastard_, she thought. They stood in silence and watched, until Armstrong pulled out a clear, empty bottle. "Vodka," he said. He turned to Raditch. "That's it."

Raditch nodded. "Ellie, would you open your bag, please?"

Ellie hugged the bag to her chest. "Uh…there's nothing in here." She was a shitty liar.

"I'll decide that," he said. Ellie hesitantly opened her bag, and Raditch peeked in. Ellie knew there were at least two half-full bottles of alcohol in there. "Ok. Ellie, I'm sorry, but we have a zero-tolerance policy on alcohol. You should clean out your locker now, before class is over. I'm going to have to expel you."

Riley stood at the back of the auditorium, watching as people hurried around, prepping themselves for their auditions. _Losers,_ she thought, swinging her book bag over her shoulder and glancing around. She saw Emma sitting next to super-nerd Liberty in the front row. She also saw Jay hovering in the back row by himself, staring at Emma. She smirked and plopped down next to him. "Hey, Romeo. Why, whoever are you looking at?"

Jay shook his head and stared down at the script in his hands. "Riley," he muttered. "What a nice surprise. Last time I talked to you, you were screaming at me."

Riley propped her feet up on the back of the seat in front of her and stretched her long arms over her head. She knew Jay was staring at her chest, but she didn't exactly mind, because let's face it, Jay was hot. "Eh, I've moved on. I'll always think you're a slimy ass, but I don't see why we can't be civil." He rolled his eyes. "So, why don't you go talk to her?"

"Talk to who?" He was playing dumb, which he was pretty good at, considering he was a moron to begin with.

"Emma," Riley said, as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth. "I know you have a thing for her. Look, if you want to get this part, you're going to have to make a good impression. So take off that stupid hat," she said, yanking the backwards baseball cap off his head. "And be charming, like Romeo."

"How come I can't wear my hat, but you can wear those sunglasses?" Jay replied. "We're in a dark theater. You just look stupid."

Riley frowned. "Fine." She removed the sunglasses, and Jay raised an eyebrow. "Nice shiner, there. You run your mouth and someone finally hit you. Who was it? I'd like to shake their hand."

"Shut the fuck up," Riley snapped. "It was just some girl who got in my face. This may look bad, but I kicked her ass. She's in intensive care as we speak."

"Yeah, right. Or it was a jealous wife."

"What? Who told you?"

Jay shrugged. "Clark Summers was at the country club last night. Saw the whole thing. He told our whole English class."

"Son of a bitch," Riley said, pouting. "Well, I could have kicked her ass, if I had felt like it."

"Ok!" Mrs. Kwan called out, clapping her hands. "Auditions are about to begin. I'll first be hearing from all the people trying out for Romeo and Juliet. I've paired you up, so I hope you've memorized the lines I assigned." A second later, a man hurried onstage and whispered into Mrs. Kwan's ear. "Oh, no. Again? Hold on everyone." She set her clipboard down and hurried off the stage. Riley jumped up and strolled down the aisle. It was such a madhouse that no one even noticed when she approached the stage and sneaked a peek at Kwan's clipboard. _Shit_, she thought when she noticed Emma and Jay hadn't been paired together. _Well, that must be a typo._ Riley pulled a pencil out and did some quick editing. Then she turned and skipped back down the aisle. When Mrs. Kwan reappeared, she picked up the clipboard. "Sorry about that. Ok. First up is Emily and Tommy are up first, and then Jay and Emma…" she stopped, looking confused. But then she just shook her head and continued. Riley saw Emma's mouth fall open in shock, and Jay was trying hard not to smile.

_God, when I'm good, I'm really good_, Riley thought.

Manny walked down the street that afternoon, clutching a heavy cardboard box in her hands. It wasn't just any box- it was the box. The box that had all of Craig's stupid belongings in it. The box that would show Craig that Manny really was moving on, even though she actually wasn't. She had really wanted to keep his stuff, but when she had started smelling Craig's shirt every night just to remember his scent, she had known it was time to stop acting so desperate and sad. She was just going to walk right up, ring the doorbell, and hand him the box. No crying or screaming or emotional outbursts.

Manny reached Craig's house, and began to cross the street.

Suddenly, a car sped out of nowhere, and Manny had to dive to avoid being another fatality of idiot drivers. She landed on the pavement with a loud thud and her elbow rammed into the ground. She lay there in complete shock as she heard the car door open and slam shut. "Holy shit. I mean, I'm sorry."

Manny rolled over onto her stomach and stared up at the stranger. "You nearly hit me with your car."

"Yeah, I know. Good thing you have such great reaction time, right?" Manny was not amused. The stranger cleared his throat. "Here. Let me help you."

Manny shook her head, flatly ignoring his hand. "No, thanks. I think you've done enough." She pulled herself up and brushed off her jeans. Her elbow throbbed painfully, and she rubbed it. "People like you should not have cars." She glanced over and saw the box lying on the ground. Everything had spilled out. She walked over and gathered everything up. The boy stood there, staring at her. _Jackass_, she thought, picking up the box. She gave the guy on last angry glare and stomped up Craig's driveway. She was halfway to the door when she realized the idiot was actually following her. She turned around. "Excuse me, but are you following me?"

The boy grinned lazily. "No."

Manny sniffed and kept walking. He kept following. She spun around. "Get lost, creep! You've already ripped my favorite pair of jeans, so you have no idea how pissed I am right now." The boy just smirked at her. "Ugh. What, do you want my number or something? Because I'm totally not giving it to you, so you can just dream on." Just then, she heard someone clear their throat, and she turned around. Craig was standing in the doorway, scratching his head_. He is so adorable_. "Craig. Hey. I just came by to drop of your things."

Craig nodded. "What's with all the yelling?"

Manny frowned. "Well, this guy," she said, nodding toward the boy. "Nearly ran me over with his car."

"God, you can be such a jackass sometimes," Craig said to the guy, who just shrugged. Manny smiled smugly at him and nodded. "Yeah, what a….wait, do you _know_ him?"

"Oh, yeah, that's my brother," Craig said casually. The guy gave a little wave. "Wait, you don't have a brother," Manny said stupidly. The guy walked up next to her and stuck out his hand. "Parker Manning. You must be Ashley."

"No," Manny barked out. Not only had this guy almost killed her, but he was calling her Ashley. "I'm not Ashley. I'm Craig's…_ex_-girlfriend."

Parker squinted at her, and then looked at Craig. "Right. Ex-girlfriend Ashley. Wait…you sure you're not Ashley?"

"Well, let me check," she said, pausing for a moment. "Nope, still not Ashley."

"Manny," Craig jumped in quickly. "This is Manny."

"Aw. Right, sorry." Parker said, winking at her. Now that she looked closely at him, he did look a lot like Craig. The curly dark brown hair, the same nose, the same irresistible attractiveness…."I'm kind of a loser when it comes to names."

"Only when it comes to names?" Manny asked sarcastically. Parker smirked. "Well, I better get inside." He glanced at his watch. "I don't want to miss the game." He leaned in closer to Manny. "But you know, I'll still take your number." Manny blushed as Parker walked inside. When he was gone, Manny bit her lip. "You have a brother? Is he like, new or something?"

"No." Craig shrugged. Manny blinked. "'Well…why didn't you ever mention him?"

"Well….Parker's kind of a loser. He just got out of rehab, and he's staying with us for awhile. We're not really that close." Manny nodded. "Sorry he hit you with his car. Parker failed his driving test four times. So….you said you brought some stuff?"

"Yeah, well…I was just cleaning out my room and I found some stuff," Manny said casually, as if she rally couldn't care less. She held out the box. Giving him back his things showed him that she didn't need him in her life anymore. It showed that she was ready to move on to bigger and better things. _So there, Craig_, she thought.

"Oh, thanks. I have a box of your stuff, too," Craig said, disappearing for a second and reappearing with another cardboard box.

Manny's face fell, and she stared at it in disappointment. "Oh." So he was moving on pretty well, too. _Great_. He'd probably had that box packed since the night they broke up. It was like he couldn't get her out of his life fast enough. She dropped his box onto the ground with a bang. "Thanks," she said, grabbing the box out of his hands. "Ok, bye!" She turned to run off, because she dangerously close to bursting into tears.

"Manny, wait!" Craig called out, and she turned back around hopefully. "Uh…." Manny could tell there was so much he wanted to say. There was so much left unsaid between them, but neither of them had had the guts to say anything. Craig rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Sorry about Parker."

Manny swallowed back disappointment. "It's cool." And a second later, she walked off.

"Ok," Mrs. Kwan said, scribbling something down on her clipboard. "Emma and Jay, you're up." Emma and Jay both climbed onto the stage, while Riley lurked behind the curtain, basking in her handiwork. Mrs. Kwan glared at Jay suspiciously. "Glad to see you're trying new things, Jay."

"Well, I love the theater," Jay replied with a big smile. Mrs. Kwan rolled her eyes. "I'm sure. You may start."

"Good pilgrim…" Emma began, and Riley was pleased to hear that Emma was great.

"Have not saint lips…." Jay began, and then stopped and swallowed hard. Riley gripped the edge of the curtain. No! Jay was about to blow it, and therefore, fuck up all her plans. He's such a retard, she thought angrily, grabbing a script from some girl who was practicing nearby. "Hey!" the girl hissed. Riley ignored her and flipped to the scene. "And holy pilgrims, too!" she hissed. Jay glanced over Emma's shoulder and made brief eye contact with her, and then nodded.

"And holy pilgrims, too!"

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair," Riley whispered. Jay repeated the lines. Emma turned and glared at her. "What are you doing?" she mouthed. Riley shrugged innocently. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers sake," Emma said, turning back to Jay. They finished the scene, with Riley whispering Jay all his lines. Then her cue came, and Riley hurried onstage. "Madam, your mother craves a word with you," she said in her best British accent, and she added a quick courtesy.

"And scene!" Kwan called out, clapping. "Excellent! Next!"

Once they were backstage, Emma placed her hands on her hips and glared at Riley. "Why were you helping Jay?"

"I felt bad. He's kind of a loser, you know," Riley said simply, taking a sip from her water bottle.

"Well, stop it," Emma hissed. We don't want him to actually get the part, do we?" _Maybe you don't, but I sure do_, Riley thought. She shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. He was really good out there. I think he'd be a perfect Romeo to your Juliet. The sexual tension was just crackling out there." Emma looked ready to murder her. "Uh…just kidding! Of course I hope Jay doesn't get the part. No more helping Jay. Ever." Emma nodded and walked away. Riley smiled. Jay walked by, and she stopped him. "Hey, want to practice lines with me, since you know, you're such a fucking idiot and can't remember them?"

"Sure," Jay said, but he glanced at her skeptically. "But why are you helping me out?"

"I guess I just have such a big heart," Riley said innocently. "And besides, you're going to make the best Romeo _ever_."

Manny leaned against the counter at The Dot, watching as Spinner scraped off the grill. "Having fun?"

Spin stopped and wiped off his forehead with a dish towel. "Definitely. There's nothing I'd rather be doing than scraping cheese remains off a grill." Manny smiled. "I'm working overtime so I can get Paige a nice gift for our anniversary. No pain, no…..what's the rest of it?"

"I think it's no pain, no gain," Manny said. Spin nodded and continued scrapping. Manny watched him, feeling slightly bad. After all, she knew Paige was pregnant with someone else's baby, and here Spin was, talking about how hard he was working for her. Poor Spin. He was hopelessly stupid, but he had a good heart. A heart Paige was in the process of breaking. "Want to order now?" Spin asked, grabbing a pad. "I can take your order."

"I'd like a double cheeseburger with fries and a strawberry milkshake," she said, and Spin scribbled it down. He walked off to place the order, and someone plopped down into the stool next to Manny. "Hey, what a small world!"

Manny looked at Parker in disdain. "Oh. It's _you_."

"Yeah, it's _me_," he said playfully. "So, anything you recommend?"

"I recommend you leave."

"You're so volatile. I like that." He picked up a menu and skimmed over it. "Seriously, I'm sorry I almost hit you. I'm not the best driver, but I'm working on it."

"I heard," Manny said, and Spin came by and set down her milkshake. She fiddled with the straw. "Craig said you failed your test four times."

"Really?" Parker said, glancing at her. He set down his menu. "And what else did Craig say about me?"

"Not much. Except I know you're his brother, you're a bad driver, and you just got out of rehab."

Parker winced. "It's all true, unfortunately."

"Why'd you go to rehab?" Manny blurted out. Parker shrugged. "I had a problem."

"Oh…so, can you just check yourself into places like that?" she asked casually, sipping her milkshake.

Another waiter came over and Parker gave his order. After she left, he turned to her. "Why? Do _you_ have a problem?" Manny didn't say anything. Parker nodded. "I could tell." Manny rolled her eyes. "Seriously. You're nose is all red and your lips are chapped. I'm not stupid." Manny turned away. "Alright, I'm not going talk about it. It's fine. So…what's the deal with you and my brother?"

"We broke up," she said flatly.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, really," Manny said with a shrug. "We just couldn't handle each other. Actually, I don't think he could handle me. I did some stupid stuff." Her meal arrived, and she laughed. "God, I'm not even hungry anymore." A minute later, Parker's food arrived. "So, how old are you?"

"I'm nineteen," Parker said, squirting some ketchup onto his plate. "Almost twenty. But I feel a lot older sometimes."

Manny stared at him with a little smile on her face. He ate a French-fry and looked at her. "What?"

"You talk just like Craig," she said, shaking her head. "Sorry, I have Craig on the brain." When didn't she have Craig on the brain?

"Craig's a cool kid. I mean, he doesn't really like me much, but that's ok. He's got his head on right, though, even though he's been through a lot. He's a tough little guy." Manny nodded, picking at her hamburger and looking sad. "I guess me talking about how great Craig is isn't really helping, huh?" Manny shook her head. Parker set down his hamburger. "Hey, you want to go someplace?"

Manny thought about it. She'd only meant him two hours ago, but she felt like she could trust him completely. And she hated to admit it, but she really liked him. Why not? And in Manny's mind, running of her with ex-boyfriend's brother seemed perfectly fine. She didn't really want to go home, so she might as well. "Sure. Where?"

"It's a surprise," Parker said with a smile. Manny smiled back. She_ loved_ surprises.

Sean walked into the crowded Metropolitan, which had been surprisingly easy to get into. All he had to do was flash his fake I.D and give the bouncer a bored look and he was in. Some girl knocked into him, giggled, and staggered off, and Sean was suddenly reminded why he loathed clubs. Not only were they overcrowded and hot, but they contained some of the most idiotic people in the world. Well, it didn't matter, because he wasn't here for a good time. He was simply here to get Ellie to at least listen to him. He finally spotted a flash of red hair, and saw Ellie standing in front of the stage, gabbing excitedly with another girl. The band was setting up onstage. Sean stood there stupidly, playing his options over in his head. He could walk over there now and demand he talk to her. Or he could wait until after the band played, and pretend he just coincidentally ran into her. While he was thinking, someone swaggered up to him.

"Sean, what the hell are you doing here?" Riley asked playfully. She was wearing heavy combat boots, pleated skirt, and a sparkly halter top. "Stalking me now?" She took a sip of her martini and smiled innocently at him.

Sean wasn't surprised to find Riley at the Metropolitan, because it seemed like wherever Sean went, Riley just magically appeared. He shrugged. "Not exactly. Did you use your fake I.D to get in, too?" Placing an age on Riley was a tricky thing, because she had the fresh-faced innocence of a twelve-year-old, but she also oozed the confidence and sex of a twenty-something.

Riley snorted. "For your information, I don't need a fake I.D. I know people. I get around."

"Yeah, I know," Sean replied with a smirk. Riley frowned. "Not like that, you pervert. Let me guess- you're looking for some ass?"

Sean rolled his eyes. Actually, he hadn't been with anyone in awhile, ever since he'd made that resolution to be a faithful boyfriend. He'd been too preoccupied worrying about Ellie and fending off an over-sexed Riley to look for a random hookup. "No. I'm just here to enjoy the band."

"Really. So you like the Runaway Boys?"

"Uh…sure." _Who? _He thought. "Do you?"

"Not really…but I have a friend in the band."

"Who?"

"Brice, the lead singer. The guy's going to be huge someday," she informed him, glancing at the stage. "Plus, he always has the best shit in town."

Brice- Ellie's boyfriend. It clicked for Sean. "Really? That's cool. So what's this Brice guy's story?" he asked, trying to seem conversational. Riley narrowed her eyes. "Ah, Brice is Ellie's current boy toy. Is that why you're interested in him?"

"Oh, Brice is Ellie's boyfriend?" he said innocently.

"You're a bad fucking liar. That's why you're here, right? To see little Ellie Nash. I take it your still hung up on her." Jealous was raging through her, but she glanced casually at her nails. "Interesting. I thought you'd gotten over that." She detested Ellie, but she wasn't about to loose her cool over psycho-chick.

"You don't feel bad, do you?"

"Oh, please," Riley snapped. "What happened was necessary. And please don't tell me you're developing a conscience now. Shit happens. But then life goes on, so get over it." She paused. "And I'm not proud of it, ok? But what the hell do you want me to do? Build a time machine and go back and change it? Look, take my advice. Ellie's turned out fine, and she's moving on. With Brice. And I very much doubt she wants to talk to you. But go ahead and make a fool out of yourself. I'm not going to stop you." Riley turned and flounced off, her blonde hair bouncing behind her. Sean sighed. Just when he thought he and Riley could maybe- and it was a large maybe- be friends, she once again showed her true colors. Last night she had acted all vulnerable and reformed, but she would always be a cold hard bitch. Sean just had to accept it.

Sean saw Ellie turn away from the stage and head to the bar. He followed her over, and walked up next to her. "Ellie, hey."

Ellie turned and looked at him. "Their a great band," he said, nodding toward the stage.

"Yeah, they are," she answered vaguely, drumming her fingers against the counter.

"So…I heard you got caught cheating on a test," he said. "That sucks."

"Actually, I got kicked out of school," she said, still not looking at him. "Are you serious?" Sean asked. "Man that really sucks."

"Why?" she asked. "I get to sleep in and do whatever the hell I want all day. Best thing that ever happened to me."

Sean frowned. "But….what about being a journalist?" Ellie ignored him and grabbed some peanuts out of a dish. He sighed. "Look, Ellie, I can't take this. I need to know you don't hate me. You know, I want things to be…ok between us. If that's possible. Please…don't hate me. It's killing me."

Ellie turned to him with a little smile. "Oh, I don't hate you."

"Really?"

"No," Ellie said. The bartender set down her drink, and she picked it up. Then she turned and poured it over Sean's head. "I _despise_ you." She turned and stalked off toward the bathroom. Sean stood there with vodka streaming down his head. Why was he even surprised? Ellie was so different now; he wouldn't put anything past her. Finally, he turned and followed her to the bathroom. He pushed open the door and stepped in. "Ok, I tried to be nice," he said to Ellie, who was standing at the sink.

A girl at the other sink turned and frowned at him. "Hey, this is the girl's bathroom!"

"Then why are you in here?" he asked, and the girl grabbed her purse and stomped off angrily. He turned back to Ellie. "I apologized, Ellie. Can't you see that I feel like shit about everything?

"Why should I care about how you feel? You obviously don't care about me."

"That's not true," Sean said truthfully. "I cared about you a lot. I _still_ care about you."

"No. You only care about yourself and Riley Corey," Ellie said angrily. "Why don't you go off and find her? I bet she's wondering around here, looking for some guy to have sex with. I'm sure you'd love to be that guy. Not get the fuck away from me and leave me alone. I have to go watch my _boyfriend_ perform." She pushed past him and out of the bathroom.

Sean clenched his hands into fists. He felt so frustrated and powerless. All he wanted Ellie to do was see how much he loved her. Yes, he had fucked up majorly in the past, but he was different now. He was different, wasn't he? God, he hoped he was different.

Ashley took deep breaths as she jogged down the sidewalk, trying to run in tune with her new iPod. Destiny's Child was blasting, and she felt completely energized. All the drama with Craig and Damon had definitely taken it's toll on her, but she simply refused to be the victim. _From now on, I'm in charge of my own destiny. I'm in control_, she coached herself. It sounded completely corny and cliché, but it was true.

The streetlights flickered on, and Ashley realized how late and dark it was getting. Mom's going to freak if I'm out too late, she reminded herself, glancing at her watch. _One more song and then I'm turning back_. She rounded a corner, and all of the sudden, Damon was standing directly in front of her. She screamed, startled. "Oh, my, God," she said, taking a deep breath. "You scared the crap out of me."

Damon stared at her. She swallowed hard. "Were you…following me?"

Damon shook his head. "No. I live on the next street over, remember? I was just taking a walk."

"Oh," Ashley said, wiping the sweat off her forehead. He did in fact live really close, but Ashley was still slightly creeped out. "Well, I should be going." She put her headphones back on and turned to go, but Damon grabbed her arm. "Wait," he said desperately. "I really want to talk to you."

"Um….I don't know. I really don't have anything to say to you."

Damon nodded slowly. "I can understand. I was a jerk. But you know I'm not really like that. I just got carried away."

"You're always getting carried away," she pointed out. "And I'm beginning to think you are like that. You were so violent with me in the car that night, Damon. I was really scared."

Damon squeezed his eyes shut and was quiet for a moment. "I can be different. Just don't leave me. You don't know how much you mean to me. I'm nothing without you."

Ashley sighed. "Damon, you have….problems. I don't know…I just think you might need to get help. And until then, I think we should just take more time apart." She slipped her headphones back on again and turned to leave. But as she did, Damon grabbed her waist and pulled her back. "Damon, stop it!" she yelled. He clapped a sweaty hand over her mouth, and she tried to wiggle free.

He threw her behind a hedge of bushes, and pinned her down. "I loved you," he said, his voice shaking with emotion. Ashley wiggled and tried to yell for help, but Damon kept his hand tightly over her mouth. "Why can't you just love me?" He unzipped his pants, and then reached to undo hers….

"You look completely miserable," Riley said to Sean, who was sitting slumped over on the bar. "And you're probably a little drunk right now." Sean just shrugged. Riley plopped onto the stool next to him and asked the bartended to get her a drink. "Wow, flashback to all the times you and me got completely wasted together."

Sean lifted his head up and blinked. "Good times," he muttered sarcastically. "Ellie fucking hates me. She threw a drink on me."

"I hate to tell I told you so….but I told you so," Riley said. The bartended set down her drink. "Thanks. Look, Seanny, it's a lost cause. Why are you even bothering? You have Emma now."

"You don't understand," Sean mumbled. Riley shrugged. He was right. She really didn't understand. So instead she tossed back her shot and stood up. "Ok. You. Me. Dancing." She said, holding out her hand to him. He shook his head. "No is not an option, so get off your ass and dance with me."

Finally, Sean reluctantly got up and followed her out. The band was playing, and everyone was jumping up and down and dancing. Sean wanted to leave. Riley grabbed him and began grinding next to him. He hardly even moved his body. "Come on. I know you move better than that," she whispered into his ear. After awhile, Sean loosened up and began having a good time. Hey, why wouldn't he take advantage of a gorgeous girl rubbing up against him? He'd had a little too much to drink, but dancing with Riley felt so right. At least she didn't hate his guts like Ellie. "You're so hot," he whispered into her ear.

Riley perked up. Finally! "I can get hotter."

"Oh, I know," he said, smiling slightly. She giggled and kissed him on the neck. "I don't want to be here anymore," she whispered into hisear. He nodded. "Let's go somewhere more private," he suggested, and the two walked off the dance floor. They finally reached a small little corner near the bathrooms, which was about as private as you could get in that place. Riley plopped down on the little red couch and pulled Sean down with her. Then they began ferociously making out, Sean fueled by the alcohol, and Riley fueled by the fact that Sean Cameron was finally giving in to all his desires.

Suddenly, Sean pulled away from her. Riley looked up and saw Ellie Nash staring down at them with a look of utter contempt on her face. "Uh…" Sean stuttered, trying to form a coherent sentence.

"I knew it," Ellie said tearfully. "It's always fucking _her_." And she turned and walked off.

Sean made a move to get up and go after her, but Riley pulled him back. "Sean," she said. "Think about this. You're always going to be chasing after someone that doesn't even care about you." As she said it, she realized that was exactly what was happening with her and Sean. Just like Sean was hopelessly pursuing Ellie, Riley was just as hopelessly pursuing Sean. She swallowed hard. "Don't leave me," she said. "She can't love you the way I do."

Sean glanced after Ellie, and then back at Riley. She saw the hesitation, the confusion in his eyes. He didn't know. He didn't know what to do. She squeezed his hand. And finally he sat back down, grabbed her, and kissed her hard on the lips. Riley smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. Deep down she knew Sean didn't love her the way she loved him. His heart would always belong to girls like Ellie Nash and Emma Nelson. But even so, she couldn't let go of him, even though he didn't want her. But she didn't care.

_Because tonight, he's mine. _

Author's Note- It's a long chapter, but I haven't updated in awhile. I know some of this is a bit over the top, but who cares? Lol. Anyway, what's the deal with this Parker guy? Is he going to help or hurt Manny? And in the aftermath of a personal tradegy, who will Ashley turn to for support? And will the play bring Emma and Jay closer together, or tear them apart? Lots of questions, lots of answers...so keep reading. I'll promise to get a faster update.

And to everyone who reviewed...thanks so much. It's nice to know what you like/ don't like. Keep reviewing!


	9. Stupid Girl

Craig paced the length of his small bedroom, pulling mindlessly at the drawstring of his pajama pants. He stopped and glanced at the glowing red numbers on his alarm clock. Almost twelve-thirty. _Where_ were they? That evening, Craig had stopped by The Dot to pick up Spin, since Spinner's father had taken his car away after an argument. As he was sitting in the parking lot, he saw Manny and Parker walk out of the restaurant. _Together. _As in talking, laughing, _practically_ holding hands. He'd almost leaped out of the car to demand what the _hell_ they were doing, but by the time he had gotten over his initial shock and confusion, the pair had already gotten into Parker's car. So Craig had spent the last couple of hours consumed by curiosity, and, more importantly, rage.

Craig continued pacing, realizing he was just getting himself all worked up. It was impossible not get all worked up when Parker was in the picture. A perpetual screw-up, Parker had never exactly been the ideal brother. He'd never been much of a brother at all, a fact that still pissed Craig off and probably always would. Parker was just a fuck-up, plain and simple. When he wasn't high or looking for a way to _get_ high, he wasn't doing anything at all.

A few minutes later, Craig heard a car-door slam outside and the faint sounds of footsteps on the grass. As soon as he heard the key turn in the lock, Craig went charging down the stairs. When Parker stepped into the foyer, Craig leaped in front of him. Parker gave his trademark lazy grin and shrugged off his jacket. "Hey, little bro. Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Where have you been?" Craig demanded, placing his hands on his hips and giving his brother a suspicious glare. "I've been waiting up for you!"

"Gee, you're not my Dad," Parker pointed out lightly, rolling his eyes. "And I'm almost twenty. I really don't think I need my sixteen year old brother watching out for me."

"I'm _seventeen_."

"Right. I always forget. Hey, do you think we have any chocolate milk?" Parker asked, walking past Craig and into the kitchen. Craig followed. Parker didn't seem to even notice that Craig was angry about something. He was always so oblivious to everything. Did Craig really have to spell it out for him? "So, where we you again?"

"I was just out," Parker said in exasperation, clearly annoyed with the conversation. He opened the refrigerator door.

"Out with Manny?" _Busted!_

Silence. And then finally Parker stuck his head out of the refrigerator. "Actually, I _was_ with Manny. Small world, isn't it?"

"How could you go out with Manny?" Craig exploded, waving his hands in the air. "She's my ex-girlfriend!"

Parker gave a careless shrug, like he hadn't just_ stabbed Craig in the back_, which made Craig even angrier. "But she's your _ex_, right? You broke up with her. So I didn't really think you'd care much."

"B-but….I only broke up with her like, four days ago!" Craig stuttered, making more weird, meaningless gestures with his hands. Parker just watched him with a completely calm, disinterested look on his face. "I'm not even really over her yet! Plus, she's only sixteen."

"I'm twenty_. And?_"

"_And_ I don't want you hanging around her," Craig said bluntly.

"Why not?"

There were so many reasons Manny shouldn't be around Parker. Craig just couldn't think of any at that exact moment, but he knew there were millions. Manny was too young, too emotional, too sweet for Parker. And Parker was….well, Parker was just Parker, which meant he just wasn't right for Manny at all. "Well, I don't want her to end up like you're last girlfriend," he blurted out. He immediately winced. He'd gone for a cheap shot, but it was all he could come up with.

Parker slammed his carton of chocolate milk down on the table. "You had to bring up Rachel, didn't you?"

Craig knew he was pushing it, but he couldn't stand the idea of _his_ Manny with loser Parker. He just knew that Parker would hurt Manny, like he'd hurt everyone else in his life. "Well, don't blame me because you got high and drove your car off a bridge."

Parker was dead silent for a few minutes, and Craig immediately felt guilty about even bringing up a subject that bothered his brother so much. Awhile back, Parker and his current girlfriend, Rachel, had been driving out in the country, and, as usual, Parker had been completely wasted on beer and cocaine. He'd driven right off a bridge, killing Rachel and barely surviving the crash himself. It was the whole reason Parker had been sent to rehab in the first place. And Craig knew that the accident still haunted his brother, and that he thought about it every day of his life. Now Craig just felt like a snot-nosed jerk. Parker was so laid- back, almost _too_ laid-back, and didn't get upset about much. Except Rachel. "Uh…I mean…uh…"

"You know, I paid for that, ok?" Parker snapped, taking a menacing step toward his brother. "You think I don't feel like shit for that? And I got help. I cleaned up. And you have no business even bringing that up, just because you're jealous I took your little girlfriend out. Manny's a big girl, Craig. I think she can make her own decisions. And she's not you're property or anything, so if I want to see her again, I will." He paused and smirked. "In fact, I think I'm definitely going to see her again. Got a problem with that?"

Craig grabbed Parker by the collar of his t-shirt, pulled him into the living room, and shoved him over the couch. Parker fell into the coffee table, busting his chin open. A minute later, he stood back up, blood dripping from his chin. Craig was panting, preparing himself for a big fight. Instead, Parker held up his hands. "Hey, calm down, man. We can settle this without fighting."

Craig took a deep breath. "You're right. Just stay away from Manny, and we won't have a problem."

Parker gently touched the cut on his chin and winced. "Like I said, you don't own Manny. And what if Manny doesn't want to stay away from me?"

"Boys, what's going on down there?" Albert called from upstairs, before Craig could reply.

"Nothing, Dad!" Parker called out, staring at his brother. "I just tripped. Good night!" Once their father had gone back to bed, Craig turned to Parker. "I don't know why you think you can just walk back into our lives. Not after you abandoned us."

"I didn't abandon you," Parker replied. "I was trying to save my life. I know Dad roughed you up a lot, but he did it to me ten times worse. I was the bad kid, and I got beat for it." He paused. "I didn't want to leave you. But I was only sixteen! What was I supposed to do with a thirteen year old? And we all know I didn't exactly do very well on my own." He sighed. "I didn't have a choice, Craig. I thought Dad was going to kill me."

"So you just left me to get wailed on?" Craig spit out, shaking his head. "Thanks, big bro."

"It wasn't like that," Parked said desperately. "I didn't know what to do. I really regret not doing something….but….Dad isn't like, hitting you again, is he? Now that you're spending more time around here…." Parker looked at him expectantly. Craig felt himself flush. So Parker wanted to play the hero now? Where was he three years ago when Craig really needed him? Craig thought about the incident the other night, when his Dad had beaten him. His Dad wasn't different, even though he said he had changed. But hey, he didn't need Parker. Craig could handle himself now.

"Look, just stay away from Manny, alright?" Craig said tiredly. The whole conversation was such a massive waste of time and energy. "And stay away from me, too, while you're at it." With that, Craig turned and ran up the stairs, silently wishing his brother had never reappeared in his life.

Riley practically skipped down the hall the next morning, humming quietly to herself. Usually Riley arrived to school half-awake, half-stoned, and fully pissed off. It was an accepted fact that Riley was not be touched, talked to, or approached at any time before eleven. But today, as disgusting as it was, Riley was actually smiling at people as she passed them and acting…_friendly_. If Riley could see herself now, she probably would have barfed. But Riley was feeling too wonderful to care. Everything had fallen into place, exactly as she had planned. But that wasn't surprising- Riley _always_ got what she wanted. God, she loved being herself. It was just too fun.

Last night had been one insane, wonderful, orgasmic dream. After months of careful planning, scheming, and steadfast determination, she had broken Sean Cameron. Riley had never felt a high like this- the high of knowing that all her hard work had paid of beautifully. Hopefully, last night had only confirmed for Sean that the two of them made one hell of a couple. Sure, Sean had been a _teeny, weenie_ bit drunk, and _sort of_ an emotional wreck, but Riley pushed that thought aside. None of that really mattered. Right?

_Right_, Riley thought breezily, flipping her gleaming blonde hair over her shoulder. Despite that messy scene with Ellie and the abundance of alcohol, Sean had clearly wanted something to happen. _Clearly_. He'd given into all his desires, all his suppressed feelings-

Riley was too busy thinking that she collided headfirst into Emma Nelson. "Ow," she groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Head trauma."

"Oh, sorry," Emma said, although she sounded too preoccupied to mean it. She frowned and nibbled on her lip. "Oh, my, God! WhatifIgotthepart? UghwhatiffJaygotthepart? Oh,my,God, thatwouldbeawful!" she blurted out, staring at Riley in horror. The girl looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Riley resisted the urge to slap her in the face. She absolutely hated when people started spazzing out like this. However, she was in a fabulous mood, she figured she might as well _try_ to help. "Sorry, but I didn't catch any of that. Rewind, and breathe between words."

Emma sighed. Riley took a second to admire, in jealousy, how effortlessly pretty Emma was. She wasn't wearing any makeup, her hair was pulled back in a sloppy bun, and her outfit was so simple- a pair of faded jeans and a pink t-shirt. Yet, she looked completely put-together and gorgeous. _Lucky bitch_, Riley thought, even though she was just as pretty. Sean must like that whole "I-care-about-the-environment-more-than-my-looks" type of thing. "I'm sorry," Emma was saying. "It's just, I'm so stressed about this Romeo and Juliet thing. I don't even really want the part now. Especially not if Jay is Romeo. Can you believe he turned out to be really good? Gosh, I'm screwed." Emma slapped herself in the forehead with her notebook, moaning in despair.

Riley snatched the notebook away from her friend. "Hey, there's no need to physically abuse yourself. One, it's not the end of the world. Two, do you really think Jay actually got the part? The moron can barely even read, let alone memorize an entire Shakespeare play. Kwan will probably give him a really small part, so he doesn't completely ruin everything." She grabbed Emma's hand. "Come on. Kwan posted the cast list this morning. Let's go see if you got the part."

"But I don't want to know if I got the part," Emma whined as Riley dragged her down the hallway. Riley just rolled her eyes.

"Suck it up."

Once they reached the bulletin board, Emma lingered behind as Riley examined the list. "You're right," she said firmly. "You're completely right. I mean, there's nothing to worry about. I probably didn't even get Juliet, and Jay probably didn't even get Romeo."

"Huh-uh," Riley mumbled absently, reading over the list.

Emma tapped her foot. "No, you're so right. I mean, who in their right mind would cast Jay Hogart as Romeo?" she asked flippantly, forcing herself to laugh. It came out as more of a loud squawk. Riley turned from the list and stared at Emma uneasily. "Look, Emma…he wasn't that bad. And everything happens for a reason, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Emma demanded suspiciously. "Who got Juliet?"

"Oh, you did!" Riley said with fake enthusiasm, grabbing Emma's arm and giving it an excited squeeze. "You totally kicked everyone's ass. Wanna go celebrate? Let's go-"

"Hold on," Emma said, shoving Riley aside and checking out the list. Her mouth dropped open. "Jay got Romeo! B-but…this must be a mistake!"

Riley just shrugged and tried to hide her satisfied smile. Honestly, she was too busy still thinking about Sean to really worry about Emma's problems. She really wanted to tell Emma to just chill out, since she was being a major drama queen. It was just a dumb play, but Emma was acting like she and Jay were getting married or something. Riley's plan was going perfectly. Jay and Emma would be working together in the play, and the sexual tension would eventually explode. "Eh, shit happens. Look, you're going to be the star in the play. Who gives a fuck about Jay? He might as well be a piece of scenery. This is _your _play."

Just then, Jay swaggered up. He looked at the list over Emma's shoulder. Even though he was wearing his sunglasses, Riley could see that he was excited. "Oh, hey, look," he said casually. "Looks like we'll be starring in the play together." He laid a hand on Emma's shoulder. "You excited, Juliet?"

Emma shoved Jay's hand off her shoulder, snorted huffily, and stalked off down the hall. Riley smiled at Jay. "You must be happy."

Jay was trying to play it cool, as usual. And failing miserably. "Whatever," he muttered. "It's just a gay school play."

"No, I'm talking about you and Emma. This is your big chance to seduce her with you're…" She thought for a second. "Um…_charm and wit_." She knew Jay completely lacked both of those things.

"Yeah, right. That was just a one-night thing. You know all about that, right?"

"Shut up, _Romeo_. Or should I call thee "Boy in Tights?"

Jay just smirked cockily. "Did you even check out the list? You get to play the maid, _and_ you get to wear that lovely fat suit." He walked off. "See ya later, fatty," he called back to her.

Riley stared at the list in shock. "_What!"_

Paige picked at her limp chef salad, only half-listening at the mindless chatter around her as she sat in the cafeteria during lunch. She looked up and saw Jimmy with his arm slung around Hazel's shoulder, and they were both laughing at something that must have been _absolutely _hysterical. Paige stared down at her salad in disgust. She knew that Jimmy made Hazel _so_ happy, but it made Paige _so_ miserable to see them together. She glanced over at Spinner, who, as usual, was stuffing his face with food and trying to talk at the same time. She loved him, she _really, really_ did. But right now, she just really couldn't stand to be around him.

"Hey, Paige, you remember that, right?" Spin asked. Paige blinked and looked up. All eyes were staring expectantly at her. "What? Oh, yeah, sure. That was great."

"Hey, Paige, do you want the rest of that banana?" Spin asked a minute later, pointing to the half-eaten banana sitting on her plate.

"Yes," Paige snapped. "I just don't inhale my food like some people."

"Hey, I had to ask," Spin joked. "Stop being such a downer."

Paige sat up straighter, about to snap back at Spin and tell _him_ to stop ignoring the fact that she was genuinely annoyed with him. But then she saw Jimmy staring at them in interest, and she told herself to just chill out. She was being kind of a downer. And she couldn't let Jimmy see that there was trouble in paradise. "Sorry, sweetie," Paige purred brightly. "_Of course_ you can my banana."

"Spinner here needs his fuel for the big game tonight," Jimmy pointed out, flashing a completely irresistible smile.

"I'm so excited for the game!" Hazel squealed. "You guys are definitely going to win."

"And my best girl will be cheering me on," Jimmy said, kissing Hazel on the cheek. Paige tried to ignore the painful burst of jealousy in her stomach. For God's sake, she was sitting right _here_. It was like Jimmy was _trying_ to hurt her. "And then after, we'll all have to go out and celebrate," Hazel suggested, taking a sip of her apple juice.

"Yeah!" Spin said. "Paige and I will definitely-"

"Uh, actually, I can't," Paige interrupted quickly.

"Why not?" Jimmy asked.

"I just can't," Paige said vaguely. _You conceited bastard_, she mentally added, watching as Jimmy ate a French-fry. She stabbed at her salad, wishing this hellish lunch would just be over already. Spin put his arm around her. "Oh, come on. It won't be fun-"

"Spinner, please," Paige said, pushing his arm off of her. Didn't he get the hint? "I said I can't." And with that, she stood up and grabbed her plate. "I have to go now." She turned and walked away, leaving Spinner baffled. Hazel sighed once Paige was gone. "She's been acting really weird lately."

"I know," Spin said sadly. "I don't know what it is."

Jimmy just silently ate his French-fries, because he was the only one who knew _exactly_ why Paige was acting weird.

Riley walked out of sixth period, and immediately spotted Sean standing by his locker. She glanced around, and then casually strolled over to him. "Hey, there," Riley said huskily. "English is so incredibly boring. I thought Kwan would never shut up."

Sean looked at her. "Oh, hey, Riley." Not exactly the romantic greeting she was hoping for, but it would have to do. Besides, Sean had never been Mr. Romance. However, something in his voice told Riley she had to be careful. "So, how about last night? Pretty crazy, right?" She put a suggestive hand on his arm, and Sean practically recoiled from her touch. Ok, something was definitely not right.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she replied coyly, stepping closer. "I just wanted to talk to you." Riley immediately wanted to bitch-slap herself for sounding so needy and desperate. Riley Corey didn't _do_ desperate.

"I wanted to talk to you, too," Sean said slowly. He shut his locker. "Look, I think there was kind of a misunderstanding about last night. A big misunderstanding."

"Well, I didn't misunderstand anything. Did _you_ misunderstand something?"

"Look, Riley….last night….didn't mean anything. You know how it is."

Riley felt her stomach clench. "No, why don't you tell me how it is," she answered coldly.

"Well…it was a mistake. Nothing should have happened."

"But something did happen," Riley said, anger creeping into her voice.

"Damnit, Riley, I was drunk. Something happened because I'd had too much to drink, and I was upset, and you were just there. You were just convenient."

Convenient? _Convenient!_ Riley couldn't believe what she was hearing. She completely forgot about keeping her cool, and something snapped. "Convenient? Are you kidding me? Don't tell me you didn't feel something. Not after everything we've been through."

"Cut it out," Sean said, looking around. "Can you get any louder?"

"Probably!" Riley yelled, and Sean winced. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a deserted classroom. Once they were inside, Sean rubbed his hands over his face. "Riley, you have to realize I…I don't care about you…_like that._"

"So you just like jerking me around?"

"Riley, you came onto me. You're always coming onto me. Sorry if you thought something different…but I'm not interested. I'm never going to be interested."

"You're such a spineless jerk," Riley barked out. "You think you and Emma are actually going to last? You think Emma's really going to stick around with you. Whatever."

"Emma and I will last," Sean said firmly. "Because Emma isn't like you. She's not fucking _out of her mind_."

_Oh, really?_ Riley thought, looking at Sean in disgust. _If Emma is so perfect, then why did she fuck your best friend?_ Riley was going to tell him. It would wipe that cocky smirk off his face, and would absolutely crush him. Riley wanted to hurt him like he had hurt her. "You think Emma is so perfect? Well, guess what?"

"What?"

Riley opened her mouth, and then snapped it shut. My God, she couldn't do it. What had happened to her? After years of perfecting her ultra-bitchiness, she had lost it. Or maybe a little bit of a good person was peeking through. No, that couldn't be it. Riley refused to believe that. Riley sighed. "Well….you're…you're just a pathetic loser."

"I'm pathetic? Who's chasing around a guy who doesn't even like them?"

Riley jutted out her chin defiantly. "It's not pathetic. I love you."

"How can you love me? You're too in love with yourself to actually love anyone else. You're the most selfish, self-serving person I've ever meant."

Riley turned and ran out of the room, tears building up in her eyes. She refused to let Sean Cameron see her cry. She didn't know which hurt worse. The fact that last night had just been a drunken escapade and not the romantic reunion she had thought. The realization that Riley actually didn't mean anything to Sean, a fact she hadn't been willing to admit until now. Or….

Or the fact that everything Sean had said about her was true.

"Are you sure my hair looks ok?" Paige asked Hazel for the fourth time, fluffing her hair with her fingertips. They were standing in the girls locker-room, decked out in their cheerleading uniforms. As captain, Paige knew she had to look better than everyone else for games. Not that she didn't anyway, but she usually put extra effort when they were performing. Honestly, tonight, Paige really care about her hair at all. It was just something to distract Hazel with so she wouldn't babble endlessly about Jimmy.

Hazel examined Paige's hair. "Um, it's a little puffy."

"Oh," Paige said, grabbing a brush. She ran it through her hair twice, and then set it down. "Whatever. I'm over my hair. Ok, gloss me." Hazel handed Paige her favorite cherry lip gloss, and Paige smeared it on her lips. Just then, Manny walked in, and Paige glared at her in the mirror. "Um, Hun, you're a bit late."

Manny shrugged. "_Ok_." She turned and walked off. Hazel rolled her eyes. "God, that girl needs an attitude adjustment.

"Well…." Paige said quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "She did just break up with Craig."

"No way!" Hazel said, wide-eyed. She looked a little disappointed, too. Hazel prided herself on being the queen of gossip, and hated when she didn't know something juicy before everyone else."I didn't even hear."

"It's very hush-hush," Paige informed her. "I hear she's kind of a mess. Not that she wasn't a mess before, but…you know how it is to be dumped. Especially after everything she put up with for Craig. The girl basically sacrificed her reputation for him. Love makes you do crazy things, I guess." She sighed and zipped up her makeup case. "By the way, how are things with you and Jimmy?"

"Oh, perfect," Hazel gushed. "Like, I want to marry him."

_God, moving a little fast?_ Paige thought snottily, although she knew it was only the jealousy talking. "Wow. You really like him. But I thought…" Hazel looked at her, and Paige shrugged lightly. "I mean, didn't you say you were kind of worried about him?"

"Oh, the whole cheating thing," Hazel said, nodding. "I decided I was just paranoid." She paused, looking at Paige's sad face. "Why? Did you hear something?"

"It's probably nothing," Paige said slowly. Hazel stared at her, and she knew she had her eating out of the palm of her hand. She wasn't proud of it, but Paige basically controlled Hazel. "But I did hear some rumors…but their _just_ rumors."

"Paige, you have to tell me!" Just then, the buzzer sounded outside, and the rest of the cheerleaders scurried to get onto the field. "Oh, we better go," Paige said, knowing full well she had Hazel questioning Jimmy's fidelity already. And she hadn't even really said anything! She was being such a bitch, trying to break up Jimmy and Hazel, but she couldn't stand watching them together. It was killing her, especially since….Jimmy was the father of her baby.

Spinner sat on the bench before the soccer game, wiggling his arms and twisting his neck around. He had to be loose and limber for the big game, since Coach had just told him he was starting. Jimmy walked up, watching Spinner. "Man, what are you doing?"

"Stretching," he said, rolling his eyes.

Jimmy raised his eyebrows. "Oh. It looks like you're having a seizure or something." He put his foot on the bench and leaned over to tie his shoe. "So, are you starting?"

"Yeah," Spin said. "You?" Why did he even bother to ask? Jimmy always started every game. He was the big man on campus, the best athlete in school. Spin frowned. "Hey, Jim? You don't know why Paige is acting funny, do you?"

"Why would I?" Jimmy said quickly. Spin shrugged.

"Well, I was just wondering if she said anything. Since you know, you two are working together as King and Queen on that committee thing." Spin knew it was a long shot, but he was desperate to know why Paige seemed to be shutting him out. He couldn't _remember _doing anything to actually piss her off. Spin scratched the back of his head and watched as the cheerleaders ran onto the field to do their little cheer before the game. There was Paige, in front, looking beautiful as she yelled out her cheers. Sometimes Spin still couldn't believe a girl as beautiful and special as Paige was actually dating him.

A few minutes later, the game started. Spin chased the ball down the field, and watched as Jimmy scored a goal. He went and patted Jimmy on the back, and that's when he saw his father sitting in the stands with Kendra. What was he doing here? Spin didn't want him here. Spin then noticed that his father had his hand on Kendra's thigh, and Kendra looked uncomfortable. God, it made Spin so sick. It made him ill because his father was such a sick fuck.

The game resumed, but Spinner was too preoccupied with watching his father and Kendra to really get into the game. He completely blew a shot at the goal. "Spin, what are you doing?" the Coach yelled out, throwing up his hands.

A few minutes later, he saw his father and Kendra get up and leave the stands together. Spin stopped completely, trying to watch where they were going. _If he does anything…_Spin thought, anger swelling up inside him. He felt ready to explode. Just then, a boy from the other team bumped into him. "Oh, sorry, man," the guy said. Spin whirled around. "Hey, you got a problem?" He reached out and shoved the kid.

"Whoa, calm down," the boy said, which only made Spin more infuriated. He grabbed the kid and punched him in the stomach. Thoughts of his father swirled through his head, and as he beat on the boy, he imagined his father's face. After a minute, the referee ran over and stopped them, pulling Spin and the kid apart. "This kid is crazy!" the boy yelled, touching his busted lip.

The referee pulled Spinner off the field and pushed him toward his bench. "Gavin," the Coach said angrily, shaking his head. "Hit the showers. You're suspended indefinitely."

Spin slinked off the field and past the cheerleaders. He looked up and saw Paige staring at him in wide-eyes shock. "What are you doing?" she mouthed to him. Spin just shook his head and kept walking. Great. He had disappointed his Coach, his team, his girlfriend.

But all he could think about was his father. And how he was going to get him back for everything he'd done.

Riley floated around on an inflatable raft in her backyard pool, silently cursing Sean Cameron in her head. She could have anyone, anywhere, anytime, but she was chasing after that idiot? She was one of the richest, prettiest, more interesting girls in the whole town- no, make that the whole fucking country- and she was spending her time thinking about Sean Cameron, the epitome of white trash? Sean was so beneath her it wasn't even funny. Riley sighed and splashed some water around. Yes, Sean may be poor and had no class, but she loved him for that. It was just part of what made him Sean. She was sick of dating the rich spoiled brat, who were too jaded to appreciate anything in life. Sean was humble and wasn't impressed by big houses or nice clothes…._Oh, stop!_ Riley ordered herself. _You're just making shit worse._

It was then that she noticed a teenage boy standing at the edge of the pool. She shielded her eyes with her hand and looked at him, but said nothing. Instead, she pointedly ignored him. Finally, the boy smiled at her. "Hey. I'm Matt."

Riley glanced at him. "Are you _talking _to me?"

"Yeah. I'm the new pool guy. And I'm going to do some gardening and maintenance. You know, stuff like that," he said cheerfully, waving a cleaning net in the air.

"Fascinating," Riley drawled, closing her eyes and tipping her face to the sun. She didn't want the guy to actually think they were having a conversation. He was cute, she thought, and usually she would start flirting insanely, but she wasn't in the mood. "What happened to Pablo?" she asked suddenly, sitting up. Now there was eye candy!

"He quit. Something about a sexual harassment lawsuit against your mother?"

"Oh, that," Riley said, waving a hand dismissively. "It'll never hold up in court." She lay back down. Matt began cleaning out the pool. "So, Riley-"

"How did you know my name?"

Matt smiled. "Oh, my Mom has been working for your family for years. You know, Rosa?" Riley stopped and tried to put a name to the face, but she couldn't. Was she really supposed to memorize the entire staff? "Don't tell anyone, but that's kind of how I got the job," he joked, winking. "Really?" Riley asked sarcastically. "Well, don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you're really talented."

Matt shrugged. "Yeah, I'm a real pro at cleaning out pools. It's my calling." He paused. "You know, I've heard a lot about you."

"It's all lies." She wasn't in the mood for more mindless chit-chat, so she rolled off the raft and into the water. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Mark," she said, purposefully using the wrong name. She dove under water, and swam to the other side of the pool to get out. When she resurfaced at the edge, she found Sean Cameron standing there, staring down at her. _Oh, Jesus fuck, _she thought miserably. _He's probably here to rub salt in my already blistering wounds. _"Oh. It's _you_," she said flatly.

"I came to apologize," Sean said. Riley rolled her eyes and hoisted herself out of the pool, making sure to get Sean a little wet. "You know, I was a little harsh at school. I didn't mean it." Riley brushed past him and grabbed a towel off a lounge chair. "Um…I'm apologizing here. Couldn't you at least acknowledge my existence?"

"Oh, gee, I'm sorry," Riley said sarcastically, toweling off her wet hair. "You were a massive jackass this afternoon, but I guess I'm supposed to fall all over myself as soon as you trespass onto my property to feed me some fake apology. Please, continue. You have my absolute undivided attention."

Sean blinked, although he wasn't surprised by Riley's bluntness. "Um….ok," he said, scratching the back of his head. He noticed Matt on the other side of the pool. "Uh…who's _that_ guy?"

"A rather dear friend of the family," she lied. "Didn't you want to say something?"

"Yes. This afternoon, I was still kind of…confused about last night. I've been confused about a lot of things lately. The truth is I kind of freaked out because…I do still have feelings for you. I didn't want to admit it before. But I really miss being with you." He stopped and took a deep breath. "There. That's the truth."

"Are you saying that even though you treated me like shit, and said those awful things to me, you actually do feel something for me?" _Don't get your hopes up_, Riley warned herself. She heard a cough, and looked over at Matt, who was pretending to clean the pool, but was actually staring at them with intense interest. "Excuse me," she said. "But this is a _private_ conversation." Matt just shrugged and walked off.

Sean scuffled his feet on the cement and nodded. "Yeah. I did some thinking. The only reason I was such an asshole to you was because…I was scared I might actually really like you. And I do."

Riley stared at him, unsure how to feel. She didn't want to be hurt again, but… "Sean Cameron…are you admitting that you like me? You really like me?" she teased, pinching him in the side. Sean cracked a smile and shrugged. "Look, you may drive me insane sometimes…ok, most times….but you're pretty special. You're snobby and rude and sarcastic….but you're special."

"Thanks…I think," Riley said slyly. "So….can we give us another shot?"

"But Emma…" Sean began, but Riley stepped up and silenced him with a slow kiss. "I don't want to think about her," Riley said, mostly because it made her feel incredibly guilty, which was kind of a new emotion for her. A new emotion she didn't like at all. "I want to think about us. But you know….me and you together are like an atomic bomb waiting to explode, Cameron."

Sean smirked. "I think I'll take my chances…" And he leaned in for another kiss…..

Manny walked into her bedroom and tore off her uncomfortable cheerleading uniform. She couldn't get it off fast enough. _I should just quit_, Manny thought, tossing the uniform onto the floor with all her other clothes. She flopped down on her bed and sighed. Cheerleading was too stressful. Not only did she have Paige on her back every ten seconds, all the other girls on the squad talked behind her back, and didn't make it a big secret, either.

Manny sat up and grabbed her purse. She reached inside and pulled out the small baggie of cocaine Parker had given her. She stared at it. Should she save it? She really wasn't sure.

Inevitably, her thoughts drifted back to Parker. She wasn't sure what to make of him, honestly. He said he'd cleaned up after rehab, but he'd still given her the cocaine, which didn't seem to make sense to Manny. She'd asked him about it, but he'd just laughed and ruffled her hair like she was some silly little girl. Maybe she was. After they had left The Dot, they'd driven to this shady house, where Parker had talked to some people privately for a few minutes, and then had dragged Manny out of there pretty fast. That had been strange. Then they had driven around, and had eventually parked at this little overlook up in the hills which was notorious for its make-out sessions. They hadn't done anything, though. Manny had wanted to, and she was pretty certain Parker had, too, but instead they had just talked. It had been…nice.

Ok, it had been much better than just nice. Parker was funny, sweet, and he had genuinely listened to her when she had talked. He hadn't just _pretended_ to listen, like most people did. He was different than Craig in a lot of ways. Not as serious. Just really calm and in control, like he had everything together.

Ugh! Manny was falling for Parker. She didn't want to- she had already been hurt enough by a Manning, and she wasn't looking to get involved with another. But she couldn't help it….

The phone rang suddenly, and Manny jumped. She grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Manny?"

"Parker? Hey!" _Oh, my, God, he called me!_ She thought with giddy excitement. "Um…what's up?"

"Nothing much," he said casually. "I hope you don't mind I called. To be honest, I kind of went through Craig's things until I found your number."

Manny laughed. Just then, she heard call-waiting. "Oh, Parker, I have another call."

"That's ok. I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out this weekend. Like….a real date. Dinner, movies, whatever you want."

Manny smiled into the phone, hugging her knees to her chest. "Great. Sounds perfect." They said good-bye, and Manny switched to the other line. "Hello?"

"Manny? It's Paige." Manny was slightly disappointed that she had given up her conversation with Parker for Paige, who treated her like some kind of bubonic plague. "Hi, Paige," Manny said. "What's up?"

"I need your help."

Manny was quiet. Helping Paige was pretty low on her list of priorities- somewhere down there between cleaning the garage and going to the dentist. However, Paige sounded desperate. "Um….I guess. I mean, I'm kind of busy…" she lied, but Paige cut her off.

"Great. Pick me up in fifteen minutes." And then Paige hung up.

_Oh, damnit_, Manny thought.

Manny pulled up to Paige's house in her mother's red mini-van. She'd only gotten her license a few weeks ago, so her mother hadn't exactly been jumping at the chance to lend her the car. _Paige better appreciate what I went through to get this stupid car_, she thought grumpily. Manny had simply thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a crappy t-shirt. _Knowing Paige, this emergency is probably a shopping expedition to the mall._ Paige ran out the front door, across the lawn, and jumped into the front seat. "I said fifteen minutes,and it was more like twenty,but that's ok," she said, strapping on her seatbelt. Manny rolled her eyes and started the van.

"So….am I taking you someplace? Is it someplace I can drop you off and then leave?" Manny asked hopefully. Paige was staring out the window. "Paige, where are we going?"

"We're going to the abortion clinic!" Paige burst out, throwing up her hands. "I needed you to take me to the abortion clinic."

"W-what?" Manny asked, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "You're not going to get an abortion, are you?" It was the stupidest question ever asked, but Manny couldn't believe that Paige was even considering an abortion.

"No, I'm just going to the clinic to meet some new people," Paige said, rolling her eyes. Manny thought the sarcasm was a little uncalled for.

"But…Paige, I really don't think an abortion is a good idea," Manny said hesitantly. _Trust me_, she thought, thinking of her own abortion, the one she still thought about every day. Paige rubbed her temples. "I can't believe Manny Santos is telling me how to run my life," she said, shaking her head.

"Then why did you call me, Paige?" Manny asked. "We're not exactly the bestest friends."

"Because I trust you," Paige admitted, her voice shaking. "You're the only one I told. I really need your help here, ok? And I'm getting an abortion. I can't have this baby." Her whole body was shaking. "Do you know what people would say? Do you know what my parents would do? What Spinner would do? You saw him today. There's something wrong with him, Manny. He'd fall apart if he knew I was having Jimmy's baby, and-" She stopped, realizing what she had just blurted out. Manny's eyes widened.

"Oh, my, God," Manny whispered. "Jimmy?"

Paige slumped down in her seat. "Yeah. I'm a slut, ok? I screwed my boyfriend's best friend, and I wasn't even smart enough to demand he use a condom. You say one word, Manny, and I swear to God-"

"Oh, save it, Paige," Manny said. "You don't intimidate me, ok? And why would I tell anyone?"

"Because it'll probably be the biggest gossip ever."

"Get over yourself," Manny said, staring at the road. "You're not _that_ important, Paige."

"Do we go to the same school?" Paige sighed. "You know what, never mind. Just take me to the abortion clinic. _Please_."

"No."

"What?" Paige asked, sitting up. Manny took a deep breath. "I can't let you do this. You can find some other way to get there, but I'm not going to be a part of it. You're going to regret the abortion, Paige. It may be hard to keep the baby, but it won't be as hard waking up a week after the abortion and realizing what you just did. Trust me; it's the worst feeling ever. Think before you do this, Paige. Think long and hard, because you can't take it back."

From the way she was looking at her, Manny knew Paige knew she had had an abortion. But Manny didn't really care. Paige sat back, looking ashen. "Ok," she whispered. "Just take me home." And then she started crying. "Just take me home."

Manny turned the car around, watching as the coolest, most perfect girl in school started sobbing hysterically next to her.

Author's Note- Haven't updated in awhile, but I'm hoping to more since it's summer. For those who like Nothing Is Forever, a new chapter will be coming out soon. So read and review, tell me what you think!


	10. The Misery Chick

The morning sunlight streamed through the curtains, and Ellie slowly opened one eye, groaned, and snapped it back shut. Then she flopped over and stuffed her face into her pillow. There was nothing like waking up with a good hangover, something Ellie was all too familiar with. A moment later she peeked out at the clock on the bed stand, and then sat up in panic. Noon. _Fuck_. If she missed any more school, she would be….oh, right. Ellie flopped back down and sighed in relief as she remembered that she'd already been expelled. Well, it looked like her day- and the rest of her days to come- would be entirely free. She could do whatever the hell she wanted. Freedom.

But as she rolled back over onto her stomach, she couldn't get very excited about being expelled. Um, wasn't she kind of….throwing away her future? Most successful journalists were _not_ high school drop outs, so she could kiss that dream goodbye. Eh, who cared? Being a journalist had only been her dream _since the exact moment she was born_, but so what? Ellie punched her pillow in frustration. It then dawned on her that at this point, she had no family and no future to speak of. And to top it all off, Ellie was able to admit that she had been hitting the bottle lately. _Hard_. Just like her mother. Ellie glanced over at the empty spot next to her, remembering that Brice was taking yet another "business" trip to Montreal, whatever that meant. Damn, it would be nice to just let it all spill out, to tell someone how stupid and worthless she was feeling. But of course Brice was off being mysterious and elusive, because he seemed to enjoy living a life shrouded in secrecy. Couldn't he ever just like, _be there_ when she needed him?

Suddenly, Ellie's thought wandered back to Sean. Involuntarily, of course. She couldn't control her thoughts. She almost winced when she recalled that night at the Metropolitan, when she'd made a big scene by throwing a drink in his face. Not her finest hour, but Sean had been asking for it, coming to her boyfriend's gig and wandering back into her life. And now here she was, actually spending time thinking about him! He wasn't even worth a single thought.

_Ellie tossed her tattered black knapsack onto the couch, and wandered over to the refrigerator. Sean was at a concert in Montreal with Jay and wouldn't be back till the next day, so it looked like Ellie would be_

_Spending a quiet evening alone in front of the television. A few days ago, after a particularly volatile argument with her shit-faced mother, Ellie had packed up a few things and moved in with Sean. The funny thing was that Sean's place felt more like home than her own house did, and she'd been living there for sixteen years. Ellie grabbed a can of Coke and popped the top. Then she froze. She could hear weird rustling noises and low moans coming from the back bedroom. Definitely suspicious. _

_Feeling sick, she mechanically walked to the bedroom and nudged open the door with her foot. The room was dark, but when her eyes adjusted, she could see two figures in the bed. The can of Coke slipped from her hand and tumbled to the floor. It was Sean. It was Sean and Riley Corey, Ellie's best friend. Make that _former_ best friend as of that very second. _

_"Ellie!" Sean said in surprise, quickly disentangling himself from Riley and hastily trying to cover himself up with the sheets. Riley stared at her blankly, but Ellie could have sworn she almost looked….satisfied. God, the bitch didn't even have the decency to look guilty. Ellie couldn't take it anymore. She turned and ran. _

_When she reached the living room, hot tears were blurring her vision and Sean was close behind her, wearing a pair of boxers. "Ellie, wait." He touched her arm gently. Ellie yanked her arm away, as if she had been burned. "Get away from me!" She stumbled back against the couch. "How dare you touch me? What is wrong with you? And…and with her? How long, Sean? How long have you been fucking her?"_

_Sean went pale. "A few weeks. A month, maybe." _

_"Oh, god," Ellie said, feeling sick. She hadn't expected him to be so_ honest_ about it. She put a hand to her mouth. "You said you loved me." _And I loved you, too, _she thought_.

_"I do!" Sean exclaimed. "I love you. God, I love you." _

_"No, you don't. You wouldn't do this if you loved me." She slapped Sean hard across the face, pulled open the door, and stumbled out into the night….._

_The next afternoon Ellie marched to Sean's house, dreading the inevitable confrontation. There would have to be if she wanted any of her things back_. Well, I'm not forgiving him_, she promised, walking up to the front door. _I'm just here for my stuff, and then I never want to see his cheating face again!_ What Sean- and Riley- had done was inexcusable. Now Ellie understand why everyone had warned her about Riley. The two had hit if off right away- they were both misfits, never really fit in anywhere and never really cared. Sean, Riley, and Ellie had hung out all the time, like the fucking Three Musketeers. But all the while Riley and Sean had been messing around behind her back. In her opinion, they were both sluts. Who knew Sean would turn out to be such a manwhore? _

_Ellie lifted her hand to knock, but didn't. What for? Instead she barged right in. She found Riley and Sean sitting side by side on the couch. Sean was tapping his foot impatiently and Riley was nibbling on her nails. Ellie didn't even want to know what they were doing. "I'm just getting my stuff, and then I'm gone," she announced icily. "And just so you know, I find you two totally disgusting-" _

_Sean stared at her with wide-eyes. "El, get out of here-" _

_A pair of police officers walked into the living room. "Are you Ellie Nash?" _

_Ellie blinked, taken aback. "Uh, yeah. Is something wrong?" For a second she thought that maybe her mother had asked the police to bring her back home, but she knew her mother was far too lazy to put that much effort into it. She wondered if her mother had even realized she wasn't coming back yet. _

_"Is this your bag?" They held up her knapsack, which she had left the night before. She had run out so fast she had forgotten all about it. She nodded mutely. _

_"We've found some stolen items, including money, in your bag. We also searched your room and found a few things as well. You do stay here, don't you?" _

_"Well, sort of, but…" _

_"You're going to have to come with us." _

_Ellie looked over at Riley and Sean, who were wearing identical guilty expressions. It finally clicked for Ellie. They'd done this. They'd probably stolen some stuff, realized they were going to get caught, and then had put the shit in her things. "You did this," she said flatly, feeling completely emotionally drained. "Fucking each other wasn't enough? You just had to twist the knife a little deeper, didn't you?"_

_They just stared at her blankly as the police escorted her outside…_

Ellie sat up with a start, her forehead wet with perspiration. _Sweet fucking dreams_, she thought wearily, remembering when her whole life had gone downhill. She wasn't surprised that Riley had let her take the fall, but she had expected more out of Sean. Maybe that had been her big mistake. But he'd proved that he was just as heartless and cold as Riley. Oh, he'd tried to explain later- they'd gotten high and stolen, and then had panicked- but Ellie wouldn't hear a word of it. He'd made it perfectly clear that he cared about Riley more- he'd protected her while Ellie was dragged off by the police. How _dare_ he say he actually loved her?

Ellie couldn't have imagined that things would get much worse, but they did. The police had questioned her, and after awhile, she'd found no point in denying it. _She'd_ stolen the money. _She'd_ bought the drugs. At some point they'd discovered that she had run away from home to live with Sean, and that she cut herself. They'd whisked her off to a psychiatrist, who had quickly deemed her one fucked up girl. She'd _already_ known that. Instead of sending her to a juvenile detention center, they'd sent her to a rehab facility where she could "receive the help she needed."

Ellie kicked the sheets off her legs. Honestly, she would have preferred prison. In the correctional facility, the girls had spent all their time talking about their feelings and discussing all their problems. But Ellie had quickly learned how to be a model patient, and after about a month, they'd decided to release her. She'd have to attend weekly therapy sessions for four months, but at least she'd be free. But then Ellie had walked out of rehab and seen her mother standing by her car, crying like she actually gave a shit about her daughter, and she knew she couldn't go back. She couldn't face going back home, not with her mother, who spent every waking minute completely wasted. And of course, not with Riley and Sean there. It had killed Ellie to know that while she was sitting in a rehab center, Riley was enjoying her freedom and probably screwing Ellie's boyfriend. It was _so unfair._ So she'd run off and had meant Brice, and the two had been inseparable ever since.

She simply couldn't forgive Sean. He didn't deserve it. You had to work for forgiveness. Ellie threw back the covers and walked over to the bathroom. Silently, she opened a drawer and pulled out a pink razor. She sat down on the toilette and went to work. She even tried to cut little designs into her wrists, as if she could make such a hideous act into artwork, into something beautiful. When she was done she tossed the razor into the trashcan. Sadly, cutting didn't make her feel any better. It just left her…._numb._

She needed to talk to someone. God, anyone who would listen.Even a total stranger would bewelcome at this point.Ellie sat down on the bed and grabbed the phone. She punched in Ashley's number.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Ashley," Ellie said in surprise, glancing at the clock. Wasn't this about the time Ash should be in school? "I thought you'd be at school. I was just going to leave a message."

"No, I'm taking some time off from school," Ashley said. She sounded tired. Or maybe she was just mad at Ellie for calling, since Ellie had turned into such a shitty friend. "But it's nice you called. It's been awhile."

Gee, that was an understatement. Ellie bit her lip. Their friendship had never made sense in the first place. They were so different, but Ellie had been the only one to reach out to Ash after her friends had shunned her. A few weeks before Ellie was sent away, they'd gotten into a monstrous fight. Ellie had been pissed because Ash had started dating Damon on the rebound from Craig, and Ellie had a bad feeling about Damon. Ash had been angry because she couldn't understand why Ellie was spending so much time with Riley. Later Ellie had realized the whole thing was silly, and she'd wanted to apologize. But then Ellie's life become so important, and she'd been too busy thinking about herself to care about anyone else. When she came back to Degrassi, she'd pushed her friends like Marco and Ashley away, just because she hadn't wanted anything to do with anyone at the school. It just hurt too much, so she'd become a bitch. Ashley should hate her, but luckily she just wasn't that kind of person. "I know. I've been a jerk, actually. But I was wondering….maybe we could get together for lunch sometime? You know…just to talk."

There was a long pause. "Ok," Ashley said finally. "How about today? At The Dot."

"Today?"

"Yeah. I…I could use someone to talk to, too."

"There you are!" Alex cried, stomping into the shop classroom after last period. Jay set down his wrench and looked over at his girlfriend, who was tapping her foot impatiently with a ferocious scowl on her face. Lovely. Was it normal to be completely intimidated by your girlfriend, who was a good five inches shorter than you and half your size? "I've been looking all over for you. Schools over, loser, so let's go. There's a Seven Sins concert down in Lawndale, and if we don't leave now, we'll completely miss it."

Jay grabbed a towel and wiped his greasy hands. "Sounds cool, babe, but I can't go."

"What? What do you mean you can't go? It's _Seven Sins_, man."

"I mean, I can't go. I have to finish this shop project today, or I get an F. And I have play rehearsal, too."

Alex placed her hands on her bony hips, rolling her eyes in irritation. Like she couldn't believe he was actually doing something worthwhile with his time. "Oh, my, God. You're becoming a fucking _nerd_. Please don't tell me you're going to spend all your time doing lame things like school work and the play and shit."

"Look, Lexxi, I _want_ to go to the concert, but I can't today," Jay explained slowly, wondering how long it would take for Alex to understand that he had new commitments now, and she was no longer one of them. And he wasn't becoming a nerd….but for the first time in his life, he was actually _participating_. But to Alex, actually putting any effort into anything classified you as a loser. "Besides, I'm a pretty important part of the play. It's _Romeo and Juliet._ It's kind of hard to do it without a Romeo, right?" Jay put on his most dashing grin and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. "But you're still my first priority." He leaned in to kiss her, not really because he wanted to, but because he felt he should.

Alex shoved his face away with her hand. "You're so full of shit. Well, I'm going to the concert, with or without you. But you can go and practice lines with Emma Nelson and her army of geeks all you want." She turned and stormed out of the classroom, loudly slamming the door behind her.

He knew he should feel disappointed or upset or…._something_, but he didn't. And he was alarmed to find that he'd rather be practicing lines with Emma than going to an insane concert with Alex. Jay had to admit that his feelings for Alex had changed. Whenever she was in his presence, he was just irritated with her, with everything she did. The way she talked, the way she laughed, the way she chewed her gum. He tried to convince himself that she was just so damn annoying, but he knew what the real problem was- _Alex wasn't Emma._

_Oh, Jesus, I am a dork_, Jay realized as he slid under an old Volvo_. Because only dorks have crushes on Emma Nelson._ Except maybe for Sean, but when he was around Emma, he _acted_ like a dork.

The classroom was deserted and eerily silent, so Jay began humming to himself as he worked. He stopped when he heard the door open and the sound of gentle footsteps moving across the room. A minute later a pair of long, tan, shapely legs appeared next to the car. _Emma?_ Jay thought hopefully. But when he slid out, he was disappointed to find it was just Riley. It wasn't that he didn't like Riley- they had a love-hate-mostly-hate relationship- but he wasn't in the mood for whatever drama she was carrying with her. And the girl was always loaded with some kind of drama. Plus she was obnoxiously over-confident and sarcastic. She had great legs, though. He couldn't help notice that.

"Hey, Romeo," Riley said, using her new nickname for him. She reached into the toolbox and grabbed a screwdriver. She waved it around like a weapon. Jay wished she'd keep her paws off his shit. "Nice tools. What are you doing?"

"I'm working on this car. Hey, could you put that screwdriver down? I need that."

Riley tossed it back into the box, and Jay winced as it clinked loudly against the other tools. "Whatever. Ew, you have bunch of grease on your face! Anyway, to get to the point, I think we can help each other."

Jay rolled his eyes. "I don't need help, but if I did, I think you'd be the last person I'd ask for it."

Riley sat down on the floor next to him, and leaned in, her aqua eyes sparkling mischievously. Jay eyed her suspiciously. "No, no, _listen_ to me! You have a thing for Emma, right?" Jay blushed slightly, wondering if it was written across his forehead. Was he that transparent? "Maybe."

"That's a yes. I've seen you in action with her, and you're just not doing it right. But don't worry, because I'm willing to help you out. If we work together, I _know_ we can break up Emma and Sean. I mean, as a team, we would be unstoppable. Of course, if you don't fuck everything up, that is."

Jay stood up and placed his wrench back in the toolbox. "Why would I do that? Sean's my best friend."

"Were you his best friend when you were fucking his girlfriend in the back of a van?" Jay turned and glared at her. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean it. Anyway, and Emma is _my _best friend. That's why we need to break them up. They're a cute couple and all, but they're just not right for each other. They'd be way happier apart. And after they break up, Emma will be all yours." Riley grinned, like she was bestowing a gift to him.

"So what's in it for you?" He knew that Riley never did anything unless she got something out of it.

"Well, I thought that was obvious," Riley replied simply. "Sean."

Jay almost laughed. _Of course_. "Aw, that's right. Weren't you two messing around a couple months ago? I thought that was just a hook up."

"It was _not_ just a hook up," Riley snapped, throwing a greasy towel at him. "I really cared about him!" Jay just laughed. Riley scowled. "Why is that so hard to believe? Look, I just know Sean would be happier with me, even if he doesn't realize it yet. He'll come around. And if you tell anyone about this, I'll make your life a living hell." She glanced at her nails casually, deciding not to mention that she and Sean had secretly been seeing each other. Some information was too confidential to tell stupid Jay. "I've been trying to get Sean forever. But the idiot can't let go of Emma. Breaking them up has been surprisingly difficult."

"I wanna know something," Jay asked suddenly. "The night of the dance, when Emma and I…._you know._ Why was she so fucked up? Emma's not into that stuff."

Riley tried to look innocent. "Jay, I have no idea….ok, fine, I gave her something. But she was about to hand over her virginity to Sean, and I couldn't let that happen! So I slipped a little something in her drink. I didn't know she'd do something really crazy, like hook up with you. That was an extra little surprise."

"You're a real friend, you know that?" Jay muttered sarcastically, shaking his head.

"Oh, come on. I wouldn't be talking, considering you definitely took advantage of the fact that Emma was so out of it. You should be thanking me. If it hadn't been for that, Emma wouldn't have touched you with a ten foot pole! No offense or anything. Look, forget about that." She waved a hand dismissively. "What's done is done, blah, blah, blah. But we can help each other with this. We really can. So are you in, or are you in?"

Jay noticed that she only gave him one option. He knew that if he didn't join in her sick little schemes, she'd just terrorize him until he gave in. Besides, Emma Nelson was slowly driving him crazy. "Yeah, ok. I'm in. But are you _sure_ I'll end up with Emma?"

"Jay, have I ever screwed you over?"

"Well, actually, remember that one time when…"

Riley held up a hand. "No need to dwell on the past," she interrupted quickly. Riley smiled up at him knowingly. Hook, line, and sinker. "Jay, this is _me_. Of course you'll end up with Emma."

Craig pushed through the front doors of the school, stepping into the bright sunshine. It's a perfect day, he thought. So why did he feel like shit? The day had dragged on tediously, and Craig had spent most of his time obsessing over Manny and Parker. And to make things even worse, Parker was picking him up from school so they could go golfing with their dad. A "family-bonding" experience, as his dad had called it. He hadn't even noticed that Craig and Parker barely said a single word to each other, and that the last thing either of them wanted to do was spend quality time together. Craig glanced around and spotted Parker sitting in his car, talking to a girl who was standing by his window and casually smoking a cigarette. Craig rolled his eyes. He walked over to the car and slid into the passenger's seat. When the girl finally walked off, Parker turned to his brother. "Hey, Craigger. How's it going, bro?"

Craig shrugged and stared sulkily out the window. "Fine. Everything's great."

"Don't worry," Parker said, tossing his cigarette out the window and starting the engine. "A few more months and you'll be done with high school. And then, after that, you can erase it completely from your memory, like I did."

"Yeah, but you didn't even finish high school," Craig pointed out.

Parker smirked. "Oh, yeah. I forget sometimes." He glanced out the window. "Oh, hey, there's Manny." He waved at her, and Craig was dismayed to see her face light up like a damn Christmas tree. He couldn't remember the last time she'd ever looked so happy to see _him_. Manny started over, but hesitated when she saw Craig in the car. "Hey, Parker!" She paused. "Craig." She said it like it was some kind of venereal disease.

"Manny," Craig said, nodding curtly. Tension hung in the air, but Parker was completely oblivious. He just smiled stupidly at Manny.

"So, waiting for someone?" Parker teased. Manny shook her head.

"No, cheerleading practice got cancelled and I don't have a ride. I'll probably just walk home."

"No way," Parker said, patting the side of the car. "Got plenty of room in here."

"I don't know. I haven't had the best experiences with your car."

"Well, then, I insist. You two should get better acquainted." Parker winked at her, and Craig frowned. What did _that_ mean? And did Parker really have to invite Manny along? Craig couldn't even imagine a more awkward situation. But a minute later, Manny was sitting in the back seat, and Craig was gripping the door handle so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Hey, I heard their opening this new amusement park downtown," Parker said conversationally as he drove along, glancing at Manny in the rearview mirror. "Roller coasters and everything."

"Oh, I love roller coasters," Manny said enthusiastically.

"Really? I didn't know you liked roller coasters," Craig said.

"Well, you don't know everything about me," Manny snapped back. Craig had hoped they could at least be civil to each other, but that obviously wasn't working out. He slumped down in his seat, wishing he could disappear. "Cool. Then we'll definitely have to go when it opens." Parker slapped Craig in the shoulder. "Hey, you like roller coasters, right Craig?"

Craig rubbed his shoulder. "Uh, _not really_, Parker."

Parker chuckled. "Oh, yeah. Hey, Craig, remember that one time we went to that amusement park with Mom and Dad, and you made them buy you that huge thing of cotton candy? And then you went on that tea-cup ride and threw up all over everything? And then you locked yourself in the bathroom because you were so embarrassed?"

Craig heard Manny giggling, and he glared at Parker. God, this guy was such a pain in his ass! "No, I don't remember that," he lied. Actually, the whole experience had been traumatizing, and Craig hadn't eaten cotton candy ever since. "But, I mean, it happens to a lot of people. Lots of people get motion sickness."

"Yeah…I guess," Parker said with a shrug as the car pulled to a stop in front of Manny's house. "Santos residence! I was going to charge you, but this one's on the house."

Manny smiled. "Thanks for the ride, Parker. Call me later." She grabbed her backpack and got out, without bothering to say good-bye to Craig.

"Wait, Manny," Parker said, turning around in his seat. "Want to go to the Seven Sins concert with us?"

"Really? That sounds cool!"

"Great!" Parker said happily.

Craig nudged Parker in the arm. "Um, we're not going to the Seven Sins concert. We're going golfing with Dad," he hissed. Parker stared at him blankly.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Dad had an emergency surgery, so he cancelled on us. So we're going to the Seven Sin's concert!"

"Well, not me," Craig said grumpily, shaking his head. "Drop me off at home."

"Nope," Parker replied simply. "This cars only making one stop- and that's at the Seven Sins concert." He ruffled Craig's hair, which Craig _hated_. "Come on, Craggier- you like music, right?"

"Everyone likes music," Craig snapped through clenched teeth. "Nobody _doesn't_ like music."

"Then stop being such a fucking whiner and cheer up. It'll be fun. Right, Manny?"

Manny hesitated. "Uh, yeah. It'll be fun. With…all of us there."

Parker nodded happily, and Craig wondered how anyone could be so oblivious. Didn't he have any idea how uncomfortable this whole thing was for him and Manny? As they drove off, heading for Lawndale, Craig stared out the window, wondering how a horrible day had suddenly just gotten worse.

"Emma, you look perfect. You're the perfect Juliet," Liberty gushed, stepping back and admiring her handiwork. Emma was standing in front of a full length mirror backstage, wearing one of the possible Juliet gowns for the play. "Now, if this one is the one we chose, I don't think I'll have to alter it at all. It hangs on you perfectly."

Emma cocked her head, admiring the way the lights made the beads on the dress sparkle. Even she had to admit she looked stunning. "It's gorgeous. I love it."

Just then the door of the dressing room flew open, and Riley waddled out, wearing the Nurse costume. In other words, a large fat suit with dumpy dress on it. "This is not fair!" Riley screeched, stomping her foot. She looked at Emma. "Why does Emma get to wear that and I have to wear _this_ piece of shit?"

Before either Emma or Liberty could say anything, Jay walked by and saw Riley. He burst out laughing. "Oh, _yes_! Does anyone have a camera? Anyone?"

"Shut up JAY!" Riley screamed. "I quit!" She turned and ran back into the dressing room as fast as the fat suit would let her.

When she was gone, Liberty rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "I better talk to Mrs. Kwan and do some damage control." She handed Emma her tape measure and walked away. Emma turned to Jay and put a hand on her hip. "You know, you didn't make Riley feel any better."

"Eh, she'll live. Besides, walking around in that costume might shut her up for awhile." He paused and nodded at her dress. "You look really beautiful in that."

Emma felt herself blush, and she turned away quickly. "Uh, thanks."

Riley remerged in her own clothes, her face red with fury. "I'm never ever wearing that again. Who says the Nurse has to be fat?" She walked over and hit Jay upside his head. "And you are the biggest jerk ever! Get out of here!" Jay just laughed and walked off. Riley rolled her eyes and turned to Emma. "As unfair as it is, that dress looks amazing on you."

Emma smiled. "Thanks. Once I take this off, we can leave."

Riley pretended to look surprised. "Oh, god, Em, I totally forgot I was supposed to give you a ride home! I'm going straight to the hair salon. I have an appointment in like, fifteen minutes. Do you hate me?" In reality, no such hair appointment existed, and she _could_ have given Emma a ride home. But instead she was planning on hurrying down to Lawndale for the Seven Sins concert. Maybe she could even get Sean to go with her.

Emma sighed. "No. I can find a ride with someone else. Hey, Liberty, can I get a ride home from you?"

Liberty walked by and shook her head. "Sorry, I have to go to the fabric store and pick up some supplies."

"Maybe Jay could give you a ride," Riley suggested innocently. Jay walked by and frowned. "What about Jay?" he asked. Riley smiled as Emma glared at her.

"Emma here needs a ride. You have a car, right?"

Jay looked offended. "Yeah, I _have _a car. But not just any car. I happen to drive a-"

Riley held up a hand to silence him. "Before you begin describing your car in specific detail, I'll just let you know that neither of us care. Can you take her home?"

Jay shrugged. "Sure, I guess. It's on my way." He looked at Emma expectantly.

Finally, Emma sighed. "Ok. Just let me change." She hurried into the dressing room. Riley turned to Jay and pinched his cheek. "See? I told you I would help you out."

The ride home was going to be unbearable. Emma climbed into the passenger's seat of Jay's car, wrinkling her nose at the aroma of cigarettes and cologne that filled his car. But she had to admit she sort of liked it, in a weird way. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Jay got into the drivers seat and started the engine. She wondered if she should say something. _What_ should she say? Nothing she could think of seemed right. So, she went for something non-threatening and completely neutral. "You didn't put on your seatbelt."

Jay looked at her and smirked. "I know. The way I see it, if I get in a car accident and die, then I was just meant to get into a car accident and die. If I'm meant to live, then I'll live. There's no need for a seatbelt. There's no reason to mess with fate, right?"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Fine. If it makes you feel better…." Jay strapped on his seatbelt. "So….we going to your house, or the ravine?"

Emma glared at him, and an awkward silence followed. Jay finally cleared his throat. "Just kidding."

"Just take me home."

They drove to Emma's house in silence. Jay kept darting hesitant little glances at Emma, while Emma just stared out the window, trying to think of reasons to just hate Jay and _not_ be attracted to him. A few minutes later Jay pulled into Emma's driveway. "Well, there you go. It's been a lovely experience."

Emma smiled slightly. "You're such a jerk."

Jay shrugged. "I've gotten that twice today. I'm beginning to wonder if it's true…..are you're parents home?"

Emma shook her head. "My Mom took Jack to my Grandmas house for a few days, and Spike has a late teachers meeting so he won't be home till later tonight."

"Oh."

There was a long pause. "Do you want to come in?" Emma blurted out before she could stop herself. She was mortified, but she couldn't very well take it back. The invitation had already been put out there. Maybe he'd say no. But then again, Emma was secretly hoping he'd say yes. "Ok."

A minute later they were standing in Emma's living room. Emma shrugged her jacket off and tossed it onto a chair. "Want something to drink. We have tomato juice, soy milk, organic fruit juice."

Jay made a face. "Can I pass?"

Emma laughed. "Sorry. My Mom is kind of on this health-food only regime. Snake's been sneaking in doughnuts and cookies and hiding them under his bed. It's kind of sad."

Jay smiled and glanced around. "So this is the Nelson residence. It's exactly what I expected."

"And what did you expect it to be like?"

"Oh, you know….neat, organized….a little uptight. Sort of like you."

Emma folded her arms over her chest and made a face. "I'm not _that_ uptight."

"Really? Ok, I'll prove it to you. Let me see your room."

Emma wanted to prove that she wasn't as tense as he thought, and refusing to let him up in her room was definitely tense. "Ok, sure," she said, jutting her chin out defiantly. She led him up the staircase and to her room. They walked inside, and Emma cringed when she saw how immaculate and tidy it was. The floor had even just been vacuumed. Jay smirked triumphantly. Emma sighed. "Ok. You proved your point."

"Knew it," Jay said, plopping down on Emma's bed. "Do you ever just let loose?"

"Sure I do. I…I let loose that night at the ravine."

Jay nodded. "I'd say so."

Another silence followed. Emma sat down next to him. He smelled like cigarettes and cologne, too. God, now she was _smelling _him! What was wrong with her? When she stepped back from the situation, it seemed truly unbelievable. Jay Hogart was sitting on _her_ bed in _her_ room and she was letting him. And the craziest thing of all was that she liked it. She wanted him there. And as she was thinking about all this, Jay suddenly leaned over and kissed her. Emma wasn't even that surprised. It was like she had felt it coming. They fell back onto the bed, and Emma lost herself in Jay's kisses.

After a few minutes, Jay's hand traveled down her pants, and she pushed him away gently. He pulled back. "Is this…ok?"

Was it? Emma wasn't even sure. She'd let him come up to her room because she'd really wanted this to happen. So she nodded slowly. It wasn't like they hadn't done this before.

She wasn't sure if she really liked Jay, or if she was just lusting after him. She couldn't figure out why she let him use her like this. She couldn't figure out why she liked it.

And at the moment, she couldn't really care.

Authors Note- It's been forever, but I've been super busy with life in general. I kind of finished this in a hurry, so sorry if it's not too great. A new chapter will be up in a while, and for people who read _Nothing is Forever_, that will be updated soon, too. Hope you enjoy and comments are always welcome! Thanks!

It's been forever, but I've been super busy with life in general. I kind of finished this in a hurry, so sorry if it's not too great. A new chapter will be up in a while, and for people who read , that will be updated soon, too. Hope you enjoy and comments are always welcome! Thanks! 


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